Commercial diets and procedures recommended for treatment of obesity are costly, says Michael Applebaum, a doctor, lawyer and fitness authority in Chicago. Applebaum's book -- "MASSematics: How to Get Rich by Not Dieting" -- examines the financial consequences of such treatments over the course of a lifetime.
Let's take, for example, someone who attempts to lose 1 pound a month and keep it at bay by using a diet supplement that costs $20 per month or $240 per year.
If, at age 25, someone were to start investing that at 5 percent, they could earn $62,766 over an average lifetime of 78 years. If the same amount were invested at 7.5 percent, it would add up to $165,105; at 10 percent, $467,964.
In addition, the average hospital charges for bariatric surgery are $30,804 for a child and $36,056 for an adult, as cited in "MASSematics."
Assuming an average-length life of 78 years and a 10 percent annual return, an investment of $36,056 at age 30 would grow to $3,498,053 by age 78.