Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate that more than one-third of adult Americans are overweight and another one-third are clinically obese. In one way or another, obesity can contribute to most of the other nine health hazards on our list.
Goldstein says insurance companies calculate an applicant's body mass index, or BMI, when determining their risk class.
"We certainly consider obesity as a health condition. Most carriers do have build tables that play into what the risk classification is in terms of what weights can qualify for the preferred classes. Some individuals who get very, very heavy could end up having rated (substandard) policies. Individuals who are very morbidly obese might not even be insurable."
Obesity isn't the only weight-related health concern. "Likewise, people who are underweight, malnourished, that is also a health condition," Goldstein says.
How might anorexia affect an applicant's rate class?
"In general, if someone has a history of anorexia, if they're in remission and their weight is more ideal, they can definitely get underwritten," says Goldstein. "But individuals who currently have active anorexia nervosa, those would be concerns."