Burden of disease associated with overweight and obesity among U.S. military retirees and their dependents, aged 38-64, 2003

Overweight, obesity and associated co-morbidities are prevalent among DoD beneficiaries. Overweight and obese individuals have an increased prevalence of co-morbidities compared to normal weight individuals. Twenty plus years of active duty in the military does not confer any long-term protection against overweight, obesity or the associated co-morbidities. The DoD should emphasize prevention in order to reduce healthcare costs and the disease burden in this cohort.