000162519 001__ 162519 000162519 005__ 20210122073622.0 000162519 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.22004/ag.econ.162519 000162519 037__ $$a1578-2016-134032 000162519 041__ $$aeng 000162519 245__ $$aThe Marginal External Cost of Obesity in the United States 000162519 260__ $$c2012-05 000162519 269__ $$a2012-05 000162519 270__ $$mjulian@primal.ucdavis.edu$$pAlston, Julian M. 000162519 300__ $$a35 000162519 336__ $$aWorking or Discussion Paper 000162519 490__ $$aRMI-CWE 000162519 490__ $$a1201 000162519 520__ $$aOver the past five decades in the United States both total medical expenditures and the proportion of medical expenditures financed with public funds have increased significantly. A substantial increase in the prevalence of obesity has contributed to this growth. In this study we measure the external cost of obesity, in the form of publicly funded health-care expenditures, and how this cost changes when the distribution of obesity in the population changes. We use a continuous measure of obesity, BMI, rather than discrete weight categories to represent the distribution of obesity and changes in it. We predict that a 1-unit increase in BMI for every adult in the United States would increase annual public medical expenditures by $38.7 billion. This estimated public cost equates to an average marginal cost of $175 per year per adult for a one unit change in BMI for each adult in the U.S. population. Separately, we estimate that if every U.S. adult who is now obese (BMI >=30) had a BMI of 25 instead, annual public medical expenditures would decline by $173.7 billion (in constant 2008$), or 17.2% of annual public medical expenditures in 2008. Assuming a socially optimal BMI of no more than 25, we estimate that the prevalence of obesity in 2008 resulted in a deadweight loss of $216.7 billion in 2008. 000162519 650__ $$aFood Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety 000162519 700__ $$aParks, Joanna C. 000162519 700__ $$aAlston, Julian M. 000162519 700__ $$aOkrent, Abigail M. 000162519 8564_ $$97ee20f8e-e1a5-46ce-a3a7-e7bc76da700e$$s487072$$uhttps://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/162519/files/cwe1201.pdf 000162519 887__ $$ahttp://purl.umn.edu/162519 000162519 909CO $$ooai:ageconsearch.umn.edu:162519$$pGLOBAL_SET 000162519 912__ $$nSubmitted by Adrienne Keiser (keise023@umn.edu) on 2014-01-17T18:50:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 cwe1201.pdf: 487072 bytes, checksum: 25a66cf3f6b58dfb8e4ce6fb256d8c49 (MD5) 000162519 912__ $$nMade available in DSpace on 2014-01-17T18:50:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 cwe1201.pdf: 487072 bytes, checksum: 25a66cf3f6b58dfb8e4ce6fb256d8c49 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05 000162519 913__ $$aLicense granted by Adrienne Keiser (keise023@umn.edu) on 2014-01-17T18:46:44Z (GMT): <center> <h2> Deposit Agreement </h2> </center> I represent that I am the creator of the digital material identified herein (&ldquo;Work&rdquo;). I represent that the work is original and that I either own all rights of copyright or have the right to deposit the copy in a digital archive such as AgEcon Search. I represent that in regard to any non-original material included in the Work I have secured written permission of the copyright owner (s) for this use or believe this use is allowed by law. I further represent that I have included all appropriate credits and attributions. I hereby grant the Regents of the University of Minnesota (&ldquo;University&rdquo;), through AgEcon Search, a non-exclusive right to access, reproduce, and distribute the Work, in whole or in part, for the purposes of security, preservation, and perpetual access. I grant the University a limited, non-exclusive right to make derivative works for the purpose of migrating the Work to other media or formats in order to preserve access to the Work. I do not transfer or intend to transfer any right of copyright or other intellectual property to the University. If the Deposit Agreement is executed by the Author�s Representative, the Representative shall separately execute the following representation: I represent that I am authorized by the Author to execute this Deposit Agreement on behalf of the Author. 000162519 980__ $$a1578 000162519 982__ $$gRobert Mondavi Institute Center for Wine Economics>Working Papers