The proportion of the population treated for major medical conditions, including diabetes, cancer and mental illness, increased rapidly during the 1990s. We document the magnitude of these increases and use a model of prevalence to identify three potential causes: increased clinical incidence of...

Objective: To examine the impact of temporary and permanent weight loss of 10% and 15% on 10-year and lifetime Medicare spending among adults with overweight and obesity aged 65 years and older. Weight loss of this magnitude is consistent with next generation anti-obesity medications recently...

U.S. health care spending has increased dramatically in the past several decades, consuming 17.6% percent ($2.6 trillion) of GDP in 2010. Although historical spending drivers do not account for this recent increase, two major changes in population health - the rise in obesity and obesity-related...