Obesity is weighing down Florida’s economy. How to reduce the numbers

A new report from Global data shows that obesity cost Florida $30.1 billion in 2022, impacting $2.15 billion of the state budget or 4% of fiscal year revenue.

Randall Croom, an associate professor of management at Stetson University, said it’s a significant amount of money that every Floridian should pay attention to.

“This affected Medicaid costs to the tune of almost $650 million in the state of Florida alone,” he said. “So when you start thinking about yourself as a taxpayer, that’s one way you’re going to experience some cost.”

Additionally, the report shows that obesity and overweight in 2022 cost Florida $2.8 billion in health-related absenteeism and disability costs.

“The associated ailments and diseases that come with obesity at the population level have increased the liability of insurance companies and have also increased the cost of insurance for individuals,” he said.

Because employers fund insurance, Croom said, obesity is also affecting who can work.

“The estimates in this report indicate that there will be 235,000 fewer adults in the labor force,” he said. “Some of those negative effects on the number of people we have in the labor force are sometimes due to illness, but also due to premature deaths of people who could still be actively participating in the economy.”

According to the Florida Department of HealthApproximately 64% of all state residents are obese or overweight.

Croom said counties that rank close to the state level mean the economic impact can be similar or worse for local municipalities.

Seminole County, with a 60.3 percent overweight and obesity rate, is a good example of how wealth correlates with health, he said.

“While that number is still 60 percent, it is below the state average. And if you make fairly broad generalizations about the socioeconomic status of Seminole County compared to other counties,” he said, “and you see that the wealthier county has a lower rate of obesity or overweight, that kind of supports the idea that there are economic factors that certainly influence people’s ability to maintain a healthy weight.”

Soft and hard infrastructure

A person can become overweight or obese due to a number of factors, including lifestyle and genetics, but Croom said there are also structural issues that contribute to the problem.

TO Preply study In April, Orlando was found to be the least walkable city in the United States.

When people can’t walk, Croom said, that eliminates some of the daily activity people would otherwise do.

“We’ve seen several studies that have given numbers of 8,000 to 12,000, depending on age, in terms of the number of steps people need to take to stay healthy,” she said. “And without urban infrastructure that allows people to get that into their daily activities and lives, it’s actually a contributing factor.”

A city’s walkability is beyond most people’s control, but Croom said the social stigma around obesity that drives economic costs can also be driven by human decisions.

Croom said that if obesity were viewed as a public health crisis, it could help policymakers choose different types of interventions.

Not only can it be difficult to walk around some Florida cities, but it can also be difficult to access healthy foods.

According Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida531,710 inhabitants of the region suffer from food insecurity.

Croom said those who don’t live near grocery stores and don’t have a car may rely on foods with longer shelf lives, which might not be the healthiest choice.

“There are a lot of economic advantages to having food that stays in the freezer and doesn’t spoil,” she said. “Being able to buy things in bulk, being able to cook and prepare food at home, because your job allows you the kind of flexibility and freedom that allows you to cook something, prepare something healthy. Those are some of the invisible economic barriers to even being able to make healthy choices.”

Better or worse?

A study published in 2021 in the journal National Library of Medicine analyzed the increase in individual-level expenditures due to obesity by state in 2016.

For example, the study shows that obesity could increase personal medical costs by 24% in Florida, 66.4% in New York and 104.9% in Texas.

Croom said that, taking into account inflation in recent years, even if obesity rates had remained the same, the associated costs would have increased significantly.

“What that means is not only likely to represent an increase in cost for people here in Central Florida individually, but certainly for business owners and for people who insure people,” he said.

For that reason, Croom said there are some low-cost solutions and applauds Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila for his efforts.

He The challenge of getting the mayor in shape invites residents to a variety of fitness activities, such as conditioning with the Pine Ridge High School JROTC, cycling, brisk walking and more.

“There are a lot of wonderful things that people can do locally,” Croom said. “There’s no need to think that this is going to be something horrible and painful, or even particularly expensive.”

However, Croom said that regardless of the costs, more money will be saved in the long run as people improve their health.

“A lot of insurance companies incentivise and support people who engage in healthy activities,” he said. “Insurance companies are excellent at maths and one of the conclusions they have come to is that it is much cheaper to fund prevention than to try to fund rehabilitation when people are in a difficult situation.”

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