Report: Obesity Costing Alameda County Billions Every Year
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Alameda County health officials say a new report shows obesity among residents of all ages is costing the county billions of dollars each year.
The report by the county's Health Committee analyzed health and obesity information from 2006 and found health care spending and lost productivity associated with obesity cost the county an estimated $2.17 billion that year.
The figure was projected to have risen by up to 28 percent between 2007 and 2011.
"You can see this is something that has been slowly but surely growing, and slowly but silently costing us billions and billions of dollars," Dr. Muntu Davis, director of the Alameda County Public Health Department told the Oakland Tribune.
The Tribune cited the report as saying nearly 70 percent of seniors, more than half of adults and a third of school-age children in Alameda County were overweight or obese.
The county Board of Supervisors plan two hearings on the report's findings beginning Monday. The hearings are designed to create an action plan based on the data.
