McKinsey Quarterly

Chart Focus Newsletter
January 2011

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The real cost of obesity

An obesity pandemic has put pressure on health care systems throughout the world. The United Kingdom, for instance, spent more than £4 billion on obesity-related medical costs in 2007, and that could rise to £9.7 billion by 2050. The United States currently spends about $160 billion—twice what it did a decade ago—and that amount could double again by 2018.

Yet these huge numbers represent only a fraction of the pandemic’s total economic burden on societies. Obesity indirectly costs the United States at least $450 billion annually—almost three times the direct medical cost. The situation is comparable in other countries as well. To learn more, read “Why governments must lead the fight against obesity” (October 2010).
Also of Interest

March 2009
Battling childhood obesity in the US: An interview with Robert Wood Johnson’s CEO
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey talks about the foundation’s campaign against the pandemic and its efforts to cope with the downturn.

December 2008
Three imperatives for improving US health care
Making treatment more affordable is the key to creating a sustainable US health system. Read how three of the largest sources of underlying costs and their growth can be controlled.

September 2008
Health care costs: A market-based view
Over the past 50 years, spending on health care has consistently outpaced broader economic growth. What will happen if that trend persists? What forces might cause it to accelerate or slow?

February 2007
Universal principles for health care reform
A medical system can address its fundamental problems if decision makers recognize the interlocking nature of its elements.

Did you miss last month’s Chart Focus?

“Why top students don’t want to teach”
McKinsey’s survey of nearly 1,500 US college students in the top third of their class confirms that a major effort would be needed to attract the best candidates to teaching positions. Only 33 percent of top-third students not planning to enter the profession believe that they could support a family if they did, for example. Recent McKinsey research found that an ongoing achievement gap between US students and those in academically top-performing countries imposes the equivalent of a permanent recession.