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iHEARTcardiacnurses

'I'm trying to find a decent figure on exactly how much more money obese people spend being obese. I found this article about spending $1500 additional dollars on healthcare but I'm not satisfied with that answer!

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=8184975&page=1#.Tt7Fh7Ik6so

I started crunching the numbers: The cost of gas to drive to the plus size shop across down, the amount from my bank statements that I spent cummulatively montly on fast food, and extra two dollars I pay for shirts/pants because they're plus sized...

Based on my statement from September, I spent $97 on fast food....NINETY SEVEN FRICKIN DOLLARS. A gallon of gas to get to and from the plus size store across town once a week...plus the six items of clothing I normally buy there a month and they're more expensive too...

Fast food: $1164/yr
Gas: $165.88/yr
Extra money for clothes: $192/yr

I mean...I'm saving $1164 a year just from not eating fast food..crazy how being fat is expensive :noway:

MaraDiaz

Eating healthy is more expensive. Or so the recent study says. But that didn't add in long term healthcare costs, of course.

Gary1977

@ my heaviest, I couldn't afford heathcare. Blue cross & blue shield quoted me @ $900 per month.

luckybunny84

I have found that it is way cheaper for me to cook healthy foods for my boyfriend and I then it is to eat fast food. One meal at a fast food place is $15-$20, cooking a batch of chili figures out to $2.50 a serving.

goodmonster

DANG girl. haha you're just like me, I start wondering about something then I just keep working at it :P way to realize it and know you're saving money!
because we all looove monies. :P

sagetracey

I'm saving money by taking healthy lunches to work every day instead of buying takeaway. My pantry has a lot less prepackaged rubbish in it. I'm even saving money on petrol by cycling to work once or twice a week (it's 28km each way so I get a good workout as well!)

But being skinnier is costing me more in new clothes for work, casual wear and work out gear. I have spent more on my bicycle in the last six months than in the last three years and I am going swimming at the pool and to dances more often, both of which have entry fees.

But my health issues are reducing dramatically so I guess I am saving on dr visits etc.

The bottom line - I'm not sure that being obese was costing me much more in $$$ but being skinnier and healthier is saving my life and that's worth every dollar.

iplayoutside19

There are a lot of similarities between financial restraint and nutritional restraint. I just googled "Economic Impact of Obesity" and was overwhelmed with results. There's lots of stuff out there. Both on a personal level, and a societal level. Most of the costs I can think of from being obese are in Rx and lost work time from related illnesses.

However, Personally, being active probably costs more money and I'm not talking about the cost of groceries. My running shoes need to be replaced $100. I actually need some trail running shoes, another $100. I entered a triathlon and a 5K in the last 30 days. Entry fees totalling $55. And I still haven't entered the trail race I want to run in Feburary. $50 (said race is 3 hours away even if I stay at a freinds house, gas and meals will cost some too.) I entered a triathlon but don't have any of that gear. Probably another $50. The shifter is broke on my Mt Bike. $20 if I do it myself, over a $100 if I take it to a bike shop and have them fix everything that needs fixed on the bike. The food scale we bought 2 years ago needs to be replaced. $15. And I've been lucky with injuries...but if I did get injured that would cost money and lost work time.

I could go on, and granted I CHOOSE to do all this stuff. But being active has it's costs too.