If even one or two of every 20 sedentary and/or overweight Californians would become leaner and more physically active, California could realize significant savings of about $1.3 billion per year, or almost $6.4 billion in five years.

"These costs are much higher than expected and reveal that the price of the obesity epidemic is far greater for businesses, as well as communities and individuals, than was previously realized," Jackson said. "These new numbers should convince many more stakeholders to pitch in and help fix the problem so that healthy eating and physical activity become the easy, routine choices for all Californians."

Health and Economic Crisis

The costs include direct and indirect medical care ($10.2 billion), workers' compensation ($338 million) and lost productivity ($11.2 billion). The report projects that costs will reach $28 billion in 2005 if population trends and rising health care costs continue.

The report also tabulates the overall costs of Californians' physical inactivity at $13.3 billion, obesity at $6.4 billion and overweight at $2 billion. About three-quarters of the costs were found to be shouldered by public and private employers in the form of health insurance and lost work productivity.

"The obesity epidemic is more than a public health crisis, it is an economic crisis," said California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshe. "Employers can achieve long-term savings and have a healthy productive workforce by taking simple steps to help their employees make healthy choices, like offering nutritious food onsite and providing access to physical activity."

Faster Than a Speeding Locomotive

State surveys and health care statistics indicate that more than half of California adults now are overweight or already obese. National statistics show that over the last decade, California has experienced one of the fastest rates of increase in adult obesity of any state.

The new report concluded that if present trends continue, the related costs will continue to increase due to population growth, aging, high rates of physical inactivity and obesity, and medical inflation.

"We also estimate that just a 5 percent improvement in physical activity and healthy weight could save California employers billions of dollars each year," Chenoweth added.

The report indicates that if even one or two of every 20 sedentary and/or overweight Californians would become leaner and more physically active, California could realize significant savings of about $1.3 billion per year, or almost $6.4 billion in five years.