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The cost of being overweight has been well documented when it comes to medical expenses, lower wages and work absenteeism. A few years ago George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health Services reported that health- and work-related costs for an obese woman were $4,789 annually more than a woman of average weight. An obese man paid a $2,646 premium. But the 35 percent of U.S. adults who are obese finance other, less-obvious premiums for their large size:
Fat people marry less, and unmarried people are poorer. Swedish researchers found that men who were obese at age 18 were 50 percent less likely to marry by the time they were in their 30s and 40s than their healthy-weight peers, while men who were only obese men were 10 percent less likely to tie the knot. Meanwhile, Harvard researchers found that obese women were 20 percent less likely to marry than women of healthy weight. Numerous reports and studies conclude that married people are financially wealthier than their single peers. One Ohio State University study found that people in long-term marriages each have twice as much wealth as people who never married -- meaning that together, a couple's wealth is four times of a single person's (meanwhile, a survey by MyDivorcePapers.com found that fat people were less likely to divorce than the thin).
More gasoline costs. The overweight pay on up to $36 per year more for gasoline, according to the George Washington University study. The extra weight requires cars to work harder, and bigger people tend to buy larger, less efficient vehicles. But the real premium is paid by people requiring bigger cars, which are more expensive and less efficient than smaller vehicles. For example, the 2015 Ford Explorer SUV starts at $30,700 and gets 20 miles per gallon in the city, and 28 on the highway, while the four-door Ford Focus starts at $17,170 and gets 29 miles city/40 highway. Assuming an average 12,000 miles driven per year, the fuel cost difference alone is $516 per year.
Funeral costs. Bigger people can require much higher-than-average funeral expenses. For people who weigh more than 350 lbs, a larger casket is required, as well as additional pall bearers and in some cases a double burial plot. All these factors can add up to thousands of dollars in extra expenses for a funeral, which median cost in the United States was $7,045 in 2012, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.
Travel American Airlines, United, JetBlue, Southwest, and Air France, have policies that 'passengers of size' have to buy a second seat. Other airlines are more flexible, offering to rearrange passengers if extra seats are available, or book the larger customer on a later flight. But nearly all major airlines strongly urge or require customers who cannot lower the arm rest or use the standard seatbelt to buy a second seat. "If the economy class is sold out, they could turn out to be less expensive," says Hobica. Another option on some airlines is to buy a last-minute upgrade to domestic first class, which has wider seats, he says.
Bigger clothes Old Navy caught flak a few months ago for charging more for its plus-sized apparel. One study by McKinsey & Co. published in 2010 found that the obese spend a collective $30 billion annually more on clothing than people buying mainstream-sized people. Are you obese? How does your weight impact your bank account? Please share in the comments.
