Clark, Daniel O.Lane, Kathleen A.Ambuehl, RobertaTu, WanzhuLiu, Chiung-JuUnroe, KathleenCallahan, Christopher M.2017-07-052017-07-052016-02Clark, D. O., Lane, K. A., Ambuehl, R., Tu, W., Liu, C.-J., Unroe, K., & Callahan, C. M. (2016). Age Differences in the Association Between Body Mass Index Class and Annualized Medicare Expenditures. Journal of Aging and Health, 28(1), 165–179. http://doi.org/10.1177/0898264315589574https://hdl.handle.net/1805/13316OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) class and Medicare claims among young-old (65-69), old (70-74), and old-old (75+) adults over a 10-year period. METHOD: We assessed costs by BMI class and age group among 9,300 respondents to the 1998 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with linked 1998-2008 Medicare claims data. BMI was classified as normal (18.5-24.9), overweight (25-29.9), mild obesity (30-34.9), or severe obesity (35 or above). RESULTS: Annualized total Medicare claims adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and smoking history were 109% greater for severely obese young-old adults in comparison with normal weight young-old adults (US$9,751 vs. US$4,663). Total annualized claim differences between the normal weight and severely obese in the old and old-old groups were not statistically significant. DISCUSSION: Excess Medicare expenditures related to obesity may be concentrated among severely obese young-old adults. Preventing severe obesity among middle and older aged adults may have large cost implications for society.en-USPublisher PolicyObesityOlder adultsExpendituresMedicareArticle