Obesity is having a major impact on industries in the United States. Hospitals around the country have been forced to spend more money on mini-cranes and plus-sized wheelchairs.
They are also forced to spend more money on new CT imaging and MRI equipment because the standard machines are not designed for patients who weigh more than 350 pounds. An MRI scanner that has a 550 lb. capacity costs $1.5 million dollars.
More people are opting to get gastric bypass surgery. In 1998, 13,386 people had gastric bypass surgery. The number of people who received that procedure skyrocketed to 220,000 in 2008.
The weight loss industry has been positively impacted by the obesity epidemic.
This industry brought in over $61 billion dollars in 2011. It is estimated that 72 million people in America went on a diet in 2007. In 2008, Americans spent over $40 billion dollars on diet products alone.
