NEW ORLEANS — Obese men spend nearly four times more on prescription drugs than do those who are of normal weight, Thomas G. Allison, Ph.D., said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association.
Overweight men fall midway between the two poles in terms of prescription medicine costs, added Dr. Allison, a cardiovascular rehabilitation specialist at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
The higher prescription drug costs associated with overweight and obesity are a reflection of the significantly increased prevalence of a wide range of chronic rheumatologic, gastrointestinal, neurologic, and psychiatric health problems in this population, he added.
Dr. Allison reported on 328 middle-aged businessmen who presented for comprehensive executive physical exams at the Mayo Clinic.
Only 52 of the executives were of normal weight; their monthly prescription drug costs for medications they were already on or began taking as a result of findings from their physical exam averaged $22.84.
In contrast to that, monthly prescription drug costs averaged $39.27 in the 172 men who were overweight and $80.31 in the 104 obese businessmen.
None of the men in the study had coronary disease.
However, the prevalence of all of the standard cardiovascular risk factors, with the exception of smoking, increased with rising body mass index class, Dr. Allison said.
So did the prevalence of degenerative joint disease, low back pain, gout, depression, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux, and erectile dysfunction.
Previous studies have estimated the cost of illnesses attributable to overweight and obesity at more than $130 billion per year.
But that might actually be an underestimate, according to Dr. Allison.
He noted that although his study found more weight-related health problems than have been reported by some other investigators, the executive physical exam offered at the Mayo Clinic is more thorough and comprehensive than the physical examinations typically provided through health plans.