NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Overweight and obese Americans ring up an additional $93 billion in annual medical bills, with the government paying about half of that, according to a published report Wednesday, citing a federally funded study.

The estimate for higher medical costs for overweight Americans puts it in the same range as the costs related to smoking, which was estimated at $76 billion a few years ago, USA Today reported.

However, the total cost of overweight people in the U.S. may be higher than reported by three economists in a study paid for by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study includes only direct medical costs but not indirect costs, such as time off from work, the paper reported.

The annual medical cost for an obese person is about 37.7 percent more, or about $732 higher, than that for someone of normal weight, according to the paper.

An obese recipient of Medicare costs $1,486 more than one of normal weight and a recipient of Medicaid costs $864 more than one of normal weight, USA Today reported.

"The fact that Medicaid and Medicare, and ultimately taxpayers, are financing half the cost lends credence to the notion that obesity is not solely a personal issue," Eric Finkelstein, a health economist for RTI International told the paper.

About 65 percent of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, with overweight defined as 10 to 30 pounds over healthy weight and obese being 30 pounds above healthy weight, USA Today reported.