Obese Americans spend a whopping 42 percent more on healthcare than the normal-weight Americans, according to a new study based on 2006 figures.

The study, published online in the journal Health Affairs, states that medical spending on obesity-related conditions is estimated to have reached $147 billion a year in 2008. Obesity now accounts for 9.1 percent of all medical spending, up from 6.5 percent in 1998. Money spent on prescription drugs needed to manage obesity related conditions are the major cost driver.

These results were presented at the first Weight of the Nation conference, which was held in Washington by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is analyzing the study's findings and new suggestions incorporated to prevent and reduce the impact obesity has upon communities.

Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the C.D.C., observed that the average American's calorie intake is an added 250 on a daily basis as compared to the consumption two decades ago. The rapid rise in obesity is the greatest cause that has triggered the National epidemic of diabetes.

“The medical costs attributable to obesity are almost entirely a result of costs generated from treating the diseases that obesity promotes,” said the study’s lead author, Eric Finkelstein, director of the North Carolina-based RTI’s Public Health Economics Program.