According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2017-2020 the obesity prevalence in the U.S. rose from 30.5% to 41.9% of the adult population. During this same time the incidence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.29%. In the U.S. 35% of adults are obese.
Obesity is the 5th cause of death world-wide with over 3.4 million deaths annually. Morbidity in obesity is often preventable and premature and related to cardiovascular diseases, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
In 2019 the medical cost of care for Americans with obesity was $173 billion. Medical costs per patient compared to a healthy weight patient was $1,861 annually.