JULIE STEENHUYSEN, REUTERS
Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10 percent of all U.S. medical spending or an estimated $147 billion a year, researchers said on Monday.
They said U.S. obesity rates rose 37 percent between 1998 and 2006, driving an 89 percent increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions.
Obese people spent an extra $1,429 per year or 42 percent more for medical care in 2006 than did normal weight people, with most of that spent on prescription drugs, the researchers said.
The study, …

Ed Blazina
(The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 2, 2009)
Obesity and its impact on health care costs have taken center stage in the debate about national health care reform.
And it seems there may be as many ideas about how to address the problem as there are people who are obese.
The issues converged last week when a national study estimated the cost of obesity at $147 billion annually, nearly double what it was 10 years ago; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held its first Weight of the Nation conference in Washington, …

Obese Americans spend about 42 percent more on health care than normal-weight Americans, according to a new study based on 2006 figures.
Medical spending on obesity-related conditions is estimated to have reached $147 billion a year in 2008, according to the new study, published online on Monday in the journal Health Affairs. That figure represents almost 10 percent of all medical spending, the study found.
Obese Americans spend about $1,429 more on health care each year than the roughly $3,400 spent by normal-weight Americans.
Most of the excess spending is for prescription drugs …

Chains are resorting to giveaways or less-than-$1 menu items. And they’re getting smarter about engineering lower-priced but still-profitable items, though some say the cheaper food tastes that way.

Before the recession, Andrew Puzder, who heads the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, liked to joke about how sharp-priced competitors were “giving food away.”
As the recession deepened and the number of 79-cent taco and 99-cent hamburger offers exploded, Puzder realized it was “no longer a joke; they are giving food away.”

Literally.

On Monday, KFC gave away a free piece of its new grilled chicken just …