Study: Chronic diseases costs Ohio $56.8 billion a year

A new study from Milken Institute says seven chronic diseases--cancer, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, pulmonary conditions and mental illness--cost the Ohio economy $56.8 billion every year in health care costs and lost worker productivity. (Source: "Researchers: 7 chronic diseases cost Ohio $56B," Dayton Daily News, March 21, 2008.) The cost to the nation as a whole is $1 trillion a year. The driving force behind both these costs and diseases is obesity; the study says that if obesity rates declined, "America could save $60 billion in treatment costs and see $254 billion in increased productivity.:

The study, titled "An Unhealthy America: The Economic Impact of Chronic Disease," was backed by a grant from drug makers and the Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases. An interactive website with findings from the study can also be accessed.