As Healthcare Costs Rise, Hospitals Weigh New Ways Of Caring For Larger Patients

Obesity In America: As Healthcare Costs Rise, Hospitals Weigh New Ways Of Caring For Larger Patients

"Meanwhile, patients are ever larger, White said. When she started out as a nurse in 1988, a 250-pound patient was a rarity. By the time she quit, in 2004, two out of the 16 patients in her unit consistently weighed at least 400 pounds, she estimated.

Obesity rates in the United States have doubled for adults since the 1970s and tripled among children. By 2014, nearly 29 percent of adults were classified as obese, meaning they had a body mass index (a proportion calculated using weight and height) of more than 30. Nearly 17 percent of children ages 2 to 19 years were defined as obese from 2011 to 2012.

Carrying extra pounds has been linked with diabetes and other chronic diseases that are costly and debilitating. But these diseases are not solely to blame for higher healthcare costs. Statistically, heavier people have higher rates of hospital-acquired infections. They spend more time in the hospital and have higher rates of admissions to intensive care units. To nurses and their advocates, what’s increasingly apparent is the mounting toll of these pounds on hospital staff."