9781422288450

must pay out, the higher our taxes go. Consequently, we all pay for the obe- sity crisis indirectly. A study by researchers at the CDC estimates that U.S. obesity-attributa- ble medical costs reached $147 billion in 2008. But direct medical expenses are by no means the only monetary repercussions of overweight and obesity. For example, think about the costs to companies when employees must take off time because of weight-related ailments. The company not only loses the money it pays to the employee while she is on sick leave. There is also the cost of lost productivity—the benefit the company would have received from having that employee at work performing her job. Companies are paying, but no one is working. In 2011, the cost of lost productivity was estimated at

Weighing the Costs / 93