Lifetime Cost of Childhood Obesity Is $19,000 Per Child

Childhood obesity carries an estimated price tag of $19,000 per child in lifetime direct medical costs, when compared to the medical costs to those of a normal weight child. When the estimate was applied for all 10-year-olds in the U.S. who are obese, the medical costs over a lifetime for this group of children reached roughly $14 billion. It found increases in obesity for children age 2 to 19, and a marked rise in the percentage who were severely obese. Pediatrics April 2014