SINGAPORE: Childhood obesity could cost you US$19,000 per child over a lifetime.

According to an analysis led by researchers at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore and at Duke Global Health Institute, that is the estimated price tag for an obese child's lifetime medical costs compared to that of a child with normal weight.

When multiplied by the number of obese 10-year-olds in the United States, lifetime medical costs for this age alone reach roughly US$14 billion.

An alternative estimate, which takes into account the possibility of normal weight children gaining weight in adulthood, reduces the cost to US$12,900 per obese child.

The findings appeared online on Monday in the Pediatrics journal.

"Reducing childhood obesity is a public health priority that has substantial health and economic benefits," said lead author Eric Andrew Finkelstein.

"These estimates provide the financial consequences of inaction and the potential medical savings from obesity prevention efforts that successfully reduce or delay obesity onset."

Obesity is a known risk factor for a wide range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.

Roughly one in three adults and one in five children in the United States are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Addressing obesity in adults requires efforts to prevent or reduce obesity among children, as research has shown most obese children and teenagers remain obese into adulthood," said study co-author Rahul Malhotra.

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Childhood obesity can cost US$19,000 over lifetime