Youth obesity can cost $19,000 per child annually when compared with those of a healthy weight.
When multiplied with the number of obese 10-year-olds in the United States lifetime medical costs for this age range came out to be about $14 billion, a Duke Medicine news release reported.
"Reducing childhood obesity is a public health priority that has substantial health and economic benefits," lead author Eric Andrew Finkelstein, Ph.D., M.H.A., said in the news release. "These estimates provide the financial consequences of inaction and the potential medical savings from obesity prevention efforts that successfully reduce or delay obesity onset."
Obesity in childhood can lead to diseases such as "cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers," the news release reported. About one in five children are obese in the U.S.
"Addressing obesity in adults requires efforts to prevent or reduce obesity among children, as research has shown most obese children and teenagers remain obese into adulthood," study coauthor Rahul Malhotra, M.B.B.S., M.D., M.P.H., said in the news release.
Some progress has been made in reducing obesity rates in children, but the problem is still extremely significant.
"Public health interventions should be prioritized on their ability to improve health at a reasonable cost," Finkelstein said. "In order to understand the cost implications of obesity prevention efforts, it is necessary to accurately quantify the burden of childhood obesity if left untreated."
The study measured direct medical costs such associated with obesity, such as doctors' visits and medication.
The researchers said cost is not the only reason to work towards eliminating obesity in children.
"For the same reasons we don't let kids drink or smoke and force them to go to school, we should also do our best to keep them at a healthy weight," Finkelstein said. "While the cost estimates are significant, the motivation to prevent childhood obesity should be there regardless of the financial implications."
