Health Insurance in Tennessee: How It Helps With Weight Loss

The days of ignoring how easily we Americans seem to be packing on the pounds may be over. Of course, being over weight has a tragic cost in terms of more frequent and more severe heath problems, but that's only a part of the total picture. More studies have pin pointed the actual dollar cost of obesity that people, especially women, are paying. Some of the ways that being overweight actually costs you more as an individual may surprise you.

How Much More Does It Cost To Be Overweight?

At George Washington University, researchers broke down the total additional money an overweight person has to spend into specific categories. They even considered needing more gasoline to haul more weight. When investigators added up the total, including wage loss for extra sick days, they saw the true annual cost of being overweight - $524 for a woman and $432 for a man.

While the disparity between the sexes may not appear so dramatic among overweight individuals, the difference was shocking for people who are obese. Studies have even suggested that wage discrimination only affects women. Hence, thin women earn more than overweight women, but overweight men earn as much as thin men.

Although investigators had expected wages to drop due to obesity, they had not anticipated the thousands-of-dollars difference between men and women. The study came up with an annual cost of obesity of $4,879 for a woman and about half of that for a man. The annual cost of obesity for a man was just $2,646.

When researchers piled on the economic costs of an earlier death and lost income, the annual obesity cost for a woman rose to $8,365. For a man, was driven up to $6,518.

Why Obesity Is A Problem For Tennessee Health Insurance

The 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System revealed that more than half - 69 percent - of adults in Tennessee were overweight or obese. That gave Tennessee the dubious distinction of having the second highest obesity rate in the country.

In Tennessee, 32.8 percent of adults are obese, which means that an adult is at least 30 pounds overweight based on recommendations for their age and height. Unfortunately, the problem is not confined to adults, and 39 percent of children in Tennessee between the ages of 10 and 17 are also either overweight or obese.

Can Tennessee Health Insurance Help The State's Population?

More than three million state residents are currently too heavy. That increases their risk for certain cancers, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Beyond just attempting to treat the life-threatening consequences of weighing too much, physicians are also offering clinical weight loss programs. And, no, that doesn't mean weight-loss surgery.

Medical weight loss programs can provide medically-supervised and nutritionally-balanced programs. That includes education about how to cook, eat out and grocery shop to lose weight through weekly support from medical professionals. Board-certified physicians can review your medical history and take a look at your prescription medications? For high-risk individuals, medical supervision may offer increased security when dealing with prescription appetite suppressants and medical conditions that make it difficult to lose weight. Certain clinics even include psychotherapy services.

Does Health Insurance In Tennessee Cover Weight Loss?

Always check with your Tennessee health insurance provider for confirmation, but weight loss clinics report that most insurance companies cover their professional services and metabolic tests under out-of-network provisions. That means the insurance companies have been reimbursing patients, but you still have to pay the clinic.

Certain clinics provide instructions on how you can submit an insurance claim for reimbursement and will even call your insurance company and explain what your benefits include to help you get started.


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By Wiley Long - President, eTNHealthinsurance.com - Tennessee's leading online health insurance agency specializing in individual and family Tennessee Health Insurance. Offering personal advisors to help you with all your Tennessee Health Insurance needs. Get an online Tennessee Health Insurance quote, get personal assistance, compare plans, apply online, and Save!