If you ask people for their motivations to lose weight, you'll get a variety of responses: to look better, feel more confident, beat longterm disease. But researchers from Johns Hopkins say there's another huge perk to consider: You'll save money.
A recent study calculated the average dollar amounts losing weight can save you—and your employer—throughout your lifetime. Researchers tracked the financial benefits of weight loss by decade (from age 20 through age 80), using computer modelling to simulate an adult's health status and corresponding medical costs and productivity losses.
The team compared savings for different levels of weight loss, based on BMI classification—from "obese" to "overweight" and from "overweight" to "normal" (a.k.a. healthy weight). For example, the study found that a 40-year-old adult who went from being obese to overweight saved an average of US$18,262 over the course of their lifetime. If the same adult then continued dropping kilos to achieve normal weight, they would save an average of US$31,447 in total.
But the study found that the largest financial benefits came from losing weight at age 50: The total average savings was US$36,278 in a lifespan.
"The risk of chronic diseases associated with obesity and being overweight increases with age," says Dr Bruce Y. Lee. "Fifty is the crossover age where you can still prevent the consequences of being obese or overweight. You have more to lose if you continue to gain weight, but also more to gain if you lose weight."
According to the Global Obesity Prevention Center, those 50 and older account for more than 60% of incremental societal costs (like higher copays and taxes for government insurance), so if these adults take charge of their weight and reduce their health risks, they could help slash overall healthcare costs.
From an individual standpoint, chronic diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and vascular diseases that lead to stroke, are high-cost medical diagnoses, says Lee. "Carrying excess weight raises your risk of developing these diseases and the complications that come with them," he says.
For example, your heart disease could lead to a heart attack, which turns into hospitalisation, procedures, treatments, and follow-up appointments, which all add up to big medical expenses. Not to mention the time missed from work, another crucial part of the study's findings.
Productivity losses caused by time out of work are a big part of this study's equation of weight loss costs. "Lost salary and not being able to work to your potential affect not only the individual but also the employer," says Lee. And this can be compounded by the individual's additional stress and anxiety over their monetary losses.
Lee hopes this study will encourage companies to offer more preventative health options to workers. "By realising the effects of obesity on the productivity of their employees and consequently their profits, employers may look to redesign or sponsor healthy lifestyle programs with weight loss initiatives," he says.
But Lee also wants individuals to see that losing weight is a worthwhile investment. "Weight loss is not only a health issue, it's a cost issue," stresses Lee. "It will cost you money to carry extra weight." Whether you put money toward buying healthier foods, a weight loss program, or hiring a nutritionist or personal trainer to kickstart your weight loss journey, it could save you cash in the long run.
"It's like investing in university, but for your overall health," says Lee. You pay tuition knowing that your investment will pay off in an increased salary in the future.
Most importantly, this study shows that it's never too late to shed kilos and improve your health. Says Lee: "Losing weight has value at every age."
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