Hi friends. Thanks for downloading the Money Girl Podcast. I'm Laura Adams.

A Money Girl Podcasts

A Money Girl Podcast listener named John asks,

after listening to your recent show about Obamacare,

I want to know what tax breaks are available for living a healthy lifestyle. Is it possible to save money

while getting fit?

Getting fit is an important goal that improves your life in so many ways.

Feeling better and looking better can actually help you earn more. In this

episode I'll show you how to also save more money by using fitness-related tax breaks.

Obesity is one of the most problematic public health concerns in the United States today. About 70% of adults and over 30% of children are either overweight or obese.

They face an increased risk of developing a host of serious health problems, like hypertension, diabetes, and heart

disease. If you're obese, statistics show that you'll pay 42% more in medical costs than someone of normal weight.

Plus, programs like Medicare and Medicaid

spend about 10% more of our taxes to treat overweight patients.

Minorities and those with low income,

especially children from low income families,

suffer the most from the high cost of obesity.

For these reasons, John's question about financial incentives to encourage fitness is a really good one.

Unfortunately, few proposals have been introduced to encourage healthier habits through tax breaks.

There are more health sticks than carrots, such as sin taxes and fat taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and unhealthy food,

these taxes are designed to make us avoid potentially harmful behavior in the first place.

However, here are three main ways that you can still use tax breaks to save money while adopting a healthier lifestyle.

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