The Economic Value of Main Report

Figure A10.1: Prevalence of smoking among U.S. adults by education level

35.0%

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0%

0.0%

Less than high school

High school diploma/GED Some college, no degree

College graduate

Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health also reports the percentage of adults who are current smokers by state. 56 We use this information to create an index value by which we adjust the national prevalence data on smoking to each state. For example, 15.3% of New York adults were smokers in 2022, relative to 16.7% for the nation. We thus apply a scalar of 0.92 to the national probabilities of smoking in order to adjust them to the state of New York.

Obesity

The rise in obesity and diet-related chronic diseases has led to increased attention on how expenditures relating to obesity have increased in recent years. The average cost of obesity-related medical conditions is calculated using information from the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine , which reports incremental medical expenditures and productivity losses due to excess weight . 57 Data for Figure A10.2 is derived from the National Center for Health Statistics which shows the prevalence of obesity among adults aged 20 years and over by education, gender, and ethnicity. 58 As indicated, college graduates are less likely to be obese than individual s with a high school diploma. However, the prevalence of obesity among adults with some college is actually greater than those with just a high school diploma. In general, though, obesity tends to decline with increasing levels of education. 56 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. "Table 20. Cigarette Use in the Past Month: Among People Aged 12 or Older, by Age Gro up and State, Annual Average Percentages, 2021 and 2022.” 57 Eric A. Finkelstein, Marco da Costa DiBonaventura, Somali M. Burgess, and Brent C. Hale, “The Costs of Obesity in the Workpla ce,” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 52, no. 10 (October 2010): 971-976. 58 Ogden Cynthia L., Tala H. Fakhouri, Margaret D. Carroll, Craig M. Hales, Cheryl D. Fryar, Xianfen Li, David S. Freedman. “Pre valence of Obesity Among Adults, by Household Income and Education — United States, 2011 –2014” National Center for Health Statistic s, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 66:1369 – 1373 (2017).

The economic value of Monroe Community College

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