The Association Between Body Mass Index and Health and Economic Outcomes in the United States.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to provide current estimates of the association between obesity and health outcomes and to examine these associations among subgroups of interest (pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes [T2D], and neither pre-diabetes nor T2D) in the United States. Data were analyzed from the 2013 US National Health and Wellness Survey (N = 71,530). Respondents were categorized by body mass index (BMI) class (normal, overweight, obese class I, obese class II, obese class III). As BMI increased, health status decreased significantly (and to a clinically relevant degree) for respondents categorized as obese compared with normal weight. Work productivity impairment, physician visits, emergency room visits, and costs also increased significantly as BMI increased. The pattern of results was similar across the three subgroups. Increasing BMI was associated with decreasing health status and increasing work-related impairment, healthcare resource utilization, and costs.