WASHINGTON, DC – The consistently high levels of well-being that residents of Southern California’s Beach Cities demonstrate on key indicators translates into substantially lower health care utilization costs for them than for Americans nationwide. Adults living in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach – the “Beach Cities” – in Los Angeles County save an estimated $182.4 million per year in health care costs thanks to lower rates of obesity, diabetes, and smoking there. Gallup estimates that Beach Cities residents spend $95.3 million more annually on health care because of obesity, diabetes, and smoking than would be expected if all residents were of normal weight, did not have diabetes, and did not smoke. By comparison, the estimated additional spending for the Beach Cities would nearly triple, to $277.7 million per year, if these indicators matched national rates; For the residents of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach, their collective high level of well-being means a savings of $182.4 million in health care costs.

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These data – which account for the overlap in costs associated with BMI and diabetes – are based on a mail survey conducted September 11 to October 23, 2023, in the Beach Cities that included a web option, and a web survey conducted August 30 to September 8, 2023, of U.S. adults who are part of the Gallup probability-based panel. The Beach Cities survey was funded by the Beach Cities Health District.

For all dollarization calculations, the population of the Beach Cities is estimated at 94,216 adults, including 56,088 working adults. Based on credible and published secondary sources, the incremental health care utilization is assumed to be $2,618 annually per overweight person compared to normal weight persons, $6,895 per smoker compared to nonsmokers, and $8,758 per person with diabetes compared to persons without diabetes.

BMI, smoking and diabetes significantly lower in beach cities than in the USA

Beach Cities residents have significantly lower rates on all three measures (plus obesity) than the average American adult. Obesity in the Beach Cities is currently estimated at 13.3%, compared to 38.4% nationwide, while overweight (obesity and overweight combined) in the Beach Cities is 45.5%, compared to 71.3% nationwide. The associated diabetes rate of 4.9% is, as expected, much lower than the 13.6% for the entire U.S., and smoking rates are also less than half the national rate (3.4% and 10.9%, respectively).

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Productivity losses in beach cities are well below the national average

Low rates of obesity, diabetes, and smoking among adults in beach cities are also associated with fewer unplanned work absences due to poor health compared to adults in the United States. After controlling for all relevant demographic characteristics, all three conditions lead to additional work absences.

Previous research has found that obese workers miss 0.74 days of work per month due to poor health, compared to 0.49 days for non-obese workers, representing a productivity loss of about nine additional days of work per year. Using a conservative assumption of $344 in salary and benefits per day, the productivity loss due to obesity among working adult residents of the Beach Cities to their employers is estimated at $6.9 million per year, compared to an estimated $20.1 million using national obesity rates. This represents a productivity saving of $13.2 million for the Beach Cities due to their much lower obesity rate.

Smoking is also costly. Workers who smoke miss an average of 0.72 days per month, while non-smokers smoke only 0.51 days. Combined with the productivity loss from smoking breaks (which costs employers an estimated $3,077 per smoker per year), this results in an estimated $14.4 million in lost productivity for employers of adult workers in Beach Cities. However, this rate rises to an estimated $46.3 million if adults in Beach Cities smoked as much as adults in America in general.

The same general pattern applies to diabetes. After controlling for BMI, previous research has found that workers with diabetes miss an average of 0.85 days per month due to poor health, compared to 0.39 days for non-diabetics. This translates to an estimated $14.5 million in lost productivity for Beach Cities workers. However, the figure would be much higher, $40.1 million, if the rate of diabetes among Beach Cities adults matched the national rate.

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Conclusion

According to the U.S. government’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, healthcare spending in 2022 was $4.5 trillion, or 17.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). That means 1.73 out of every $10 spent in the U.S. for any reason this year was for healthcare. Recent projections have healthcare spending rising to 19.7% by 2032, with nearly 2 out of every $10 spent in the U.S. going to fund healthcare.

Among these frightening statistics is that the treatment and management of chronic diseases and mental illness accounts for 90% of total healthcare spending, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By maintaining comparatively low rates of obesity, diabetes, and smoking (among other diseases and associated risk factors not summarized in this article), Beach Cities residents can significantly flatten that curve.

The good health of many adults in the Beach Cities area is likely due in part to the efforts of the Beach Cities Health District (BCHD), which regularly organizes events and activities designed to improve the well-being of residents in a variety of areas, from mental health first aid classes to social events to free healthy cooking and yoga classes. A key aspect of these BCHD efforts has been the sponsorship of the Blue Zones Project (BZP), which specializes in transforming the local wellness culture through a variety of interventions, including changing the built fabric—such as adding bike lanes—and engaging local businesses, restaurants, grocery stores, and schools to participate in local initiatives. Since 2010, the BZP has had a presence in the community to help create a wellness culture.

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