States spend up to $15 billion a year in medical expenses related to obesity, according to a report in Obesity.
The study, based on the 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, showed 25-64 percent of state-level obesity costs are financed by Medicare and Medicaid.
Based on researchers' estimates, obesity accounted for 10 percent or more of total medical expenditures in nine states: Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee.
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