How to save $6000 per year in health expenses

Hey guys
Here is an interesting article from Journal of the American Medical Association regarding being overweight in young/middle age to Medicare expenditures in older age. The study looked at Medicare data from 1984-2002 with baseline data from 1967-1973 for 9978 men and 7623 women (ages 33-64) who did NOT have heart disease or diabetes and were either normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), overweight (BMI 25-29.9), obese (BMI 30-34.9) or severely obese (BMI>35). After the authors had adjusted for age, race, education, and smoking, they found some very amazing difference in annual and cumulative charges for men and women:

Women
Normal Weight: $6224 annual costs and $76866 cumulative costs
Overweight: $7653 annual costs and $100959 cumulative costs
Obese: $9612 annual costs and $125470 cumulative costs
Severely obese: $12342 annual costs and $174752 cumulative costs

Men
Normal Weight: $7205 annual costs and / $100431 cumulative costs
Overweight: $8930 annual costs and $109098 cumulative costs
Obese: $10128 annual costs and $119318 cumulative costs
Severely obese: $13674 annual costs and $176947 cumulative costs

Bottom line, eating healthy and exercising regularly can help save you as much as $6000 in annual healthcare expenditures in your old age
So get up and go for a run, it may be the best investment you ever make.

Daviglus M, et al. Relation of Body Mass Index in Young Adulthood and Middle Age to Medicare Expenditures in Older Age. JAMA. 2004;292:2743-2749.