More than 40 percent of Americans are obese, and two-thirds are overweight. It’s time for leaders to address the problem.
More than 40 percent of Americans are obese, and two-thirds are overweight. It’s time for leaders to address the problem.
T he United States military has a big problem — it has failed to meet its targets for recruiting new soldiers for several years. In the Army’s own words, this is the “most challenging labor market since the inception of the all-volunteer force.” This chilling news comes at the same time America faces growing challenges abroad, including the rising threat of war with China and ongoing security concerns over Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Making the situation even worse is the startling fact that only 23 percent of young Americans are even eligible to serve in the military, according to a recent Pentagon report. The consequences of that reality could be deadly if war does arrive.
While there are a number of reasons young Americans can be disqualified from serving, one of the most prominent factors is the nation’s chronically high obesity rates. Today, more than 1 in 3 young adults are too heavy to serve in the armed forces.
Beyond endangering national security, the obesity epidemic also has worrying implications for the United States’ politics, culture, and economy. These concerns are grounded in decades of research and documentation. Yet America’s leaders mostly continue to ignore the crisis.
It’s easy to understand why America’s leaders have not paid more attention to the topic. Obesity rates have risen gradually (but consistently) over time. As a result, public officials have not been shocked enough to confront the issue. Moreover, obesity has historically been viewed as a matter of personal responsibility rather than public policy, so politicians have felt little pressure to offer a solution.
Still, it is disconcerting that a problem as significant and widespread as the obesity crisis has drawn so little of our leaders’ attention. The sheer scale of the nation’s weight problem is stunning.
According to the CDC, 41.9 percent of American adults are obese, including 9.2 percent of people with severe obesity. By 2030, half of the country will be obese, with upwards of a quarter of the population having severe obesity. And these figures do not include the more than 30 percent of people who are overweight but not obese. All in all, nearly three out of every four Americans are weighing in above healthy levels.
Excess weight leads to serious individual and societal problems. Obesity is associated with numerous comorbidities, including an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and stroke. For this reason, it is an incredibly costly condition, damaging the quality of life for people with obesity and threatening the health-care system writ large.
No one disputes that obesity imposes a substantial economic burden. On the lower end, the CDC estimates that obesity directly costs the U.S. health-care system $173 billion annually, while a 2021 study found more than $260 billion per year in direct medical costs.
As striking as these figures are, they still understate the scope of America’s weight problem, as they do not account for the more than 30 percent of the U.S. population that is overweight but not obese. Moreover, in addition to direct medical costs, obesity-related health complications decrease economic productivity.
All in all, the complete financial burden of excess weight on the American economy is nothing short of astounding. According to a 2020 Milken Institute report, “the total cost of chronic diseases due to American obesity and overweight was $1.72 trillion — equivalent to 9.3 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).” By comparison, a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) analysis found that the opioid epidemic cost the U.S. economy $1.5 trillion in 2020.
These are not just numbers on a page. They represent real pain — a sense of growing despair that hundreds of millions of Americans and their families experience each and every day. Compared with those at a healthy weight, obese individuals spend thousands of dollars more each year — and those with severe obesity spend an average of 230 percent more — on medical bills.
Given the magnitude and severity of the obesity crisis, it is hard to argue that political leaders are giving it adequate attention. Obesity is notably absent from both parties’ platforms and has not been a prominent issue in recent election cycles. By contrast, the 2020 Republican and Democratic Party platforms highlighted the opioid epidemic, and candidates regularly talk about the blight of drug addiction and how to mitigate it.
When there have been isolated efforts to address obesity via public policy, they have usually originated on the political left. Michelle Obama’s healthy-school-lunch initiative and the effort by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban big sodas come to mind, though neither was particularly effective. Even in the academic world, “inclusive” leftist talking points drive the discourse in the discipline of “fat studies.”
It is unrealistic to expect that an issue affecting three-quarters of the country and costing trillions annually will remain forever marginalized in policy discussions. Given that the Left has thus far taken more organized action on obesity, Democrats will probably be at the forefront of the emerging policy debate on the issue — unless conservatives are willing to take a stand.
When the political and cultural Left succeeds in setting the terms of the debate, conservatives must go on the defensive. Rather than constructing a solution to the obesity epidemic grounded in personal liberty, individual empowerment, and limited government, the Right will be forced to oppose left-wing plans to raise taxes, decrease individual choice, and further expand the role of government in daily life.
Fortunately, conservatives have time to assert their own vision for managing the country’s excess-weight burden. Solving the problem will not be easy. The prevalence of obesity has been consistently increasing since it first started being measured in the 1960s. Any conservative solution must involve outside-the-box thinking, and politicians should be humble about how much progress is possible via the levers of public policy alone.
Nevertheless, there are some commonsense proposals to combat obesity that conservatives can get behind. The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Senator Bill Cassidy (R., La.) would expand Medicare coverage of obesity treatment by giving patients access to weight-management specialists and highly effective anti-obesity medications.
While conservatives should be wary of expanding government programs, allowing Medicare to cover obesity treatment will save taxpayers money. A 2023 USC study found that Medicare coverage of obesity treatments would generate more than $175 billion in cost offsets over the next decade, with potential savings clocking in at $700 billion over 30 years. On top of that, the corresponding reduction in chronic disease could produce up to $100 billion per year in indirect savings via lower health-care spending and improved quality of life.
While proposals such as Cassidy’s are a good start, more will be needed to get the obesity crisis under control. Embracing the principles of federalism would allow leaders in different jurisdictions to experiment with new ideas for combating obesity. Those that work can be replicated in other places, and those that do not can be cast aside.
States could, for instance, embrace innovative tax policies to encourage healthier eating by cutting or eliminating taxes on fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed foods. Similarly, efforts to encourage SNAP (food stamp) recipients to eat better could be expanded, since low-income Americans are disproportionately likely to be overweight or obese. The Double Up Food Bucks initiative could be a model to imitate. In this program, every SNAP dollar a recipient spends on fresh fruits and vegetables can buy two dollars’ worth of produce.
Ideas like these would preserve the role of personal responsibility in combating obesity. For those who value individual freedom and autonomy, this approach is better than the coercive tactics preferred by the Left, such as sugary-drink bans or excise taxes on unhealthy foods similar to those levied on alcohol and tobacco.
Expanding access to obesity treatment and encouraging healthier eating are vital steps, but America’s leaders can start by simply raising awareness. Americans have repeatedly solved a wide range of problems through innovation. By identifying obesity as a national concern — by talking about its grave personal and societal consequences — politicians can inspire the private sector and individual Americans to find solutions.
The current GOP presidential primary offers an excellent opportunity for the nation’s aspiring leaders to draw attention to the obesity crisis. The Iowa caucuses are more than four months away, so campaigns have plenty of time to integrate obesity into their policy priorities.
Indeed, a candidate with a coherent and compassionate vision for alleviating the burdens of the obesity epidemic could benefit at the ballot box. After all, obesity is a kitchen-table issue for millions of Americans. A viable solution could help a candidate connect with the electorate on a personal level while simultaneously boosting his or her policy chops.
But politics aside, there is another reason politicians should devote more time and effort to solving the obesity epidemic: It’s the right thing to do. The American people are suffering. For the nation’s politicians to continue ignoring the situation is an unacceptable dereliction of duty.
The obesity crisis needs to be addressed. But to solve a problem, we must talk about it. It’s time for those who want to lead America to step up and bring obesity policy into the discussion.