Findings

Congress makes the following findings: (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 41 percent of adults aged 60 and over had obesity in the period of 2015 through 2016, representing more than 27,000,000 people. (2) The National Institutes of Health has reported that obesity and overweight are now the second leading cause of death nationally, with an estimated 300,000 deaths a year attributed to the epidemic. (3) Obesity increases the risk for chronic diseases and conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, certain cancers, arthritis, mental illness, lipid disorders, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes. (4) More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are treated for 5 or more chronic conditions per year. The rate of obesity among Medicare beneficiaries doubled from 1987 to 2002, and nearly doubled again by 2016, with Medicare spending on individuals with obesity during that time rising proportionately to reach $50,000,000,000 in 2014. (5) Men and women with obesity at age 65 have decreased life expectancy of 1.6 years for men and 1.4 years for women. (6) The direct and indirect cost of obesity was more than $427,800,000,000 in 2014, and is growing. (7) On average, a Medicare beneficiary with obesity costs $2,018 (in 2019 dollars) more than a healthy-weight beneficiary. (8) The prevalence of obesity among older individuals in the United States is growing at a linear rate and, if nothing changes, nearly one in two (47 percent) Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and over will have obesity in 2030, up from slightly more than one in four (28 percent) in 2010.