Health-economic burden of obesity in Europe

Abstract

Although overweight and obesity have long been recognised as major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, lifestyle developments have led to substantial increases in bodyweight worldwide. In addition to their negative effects on health and quality of life, obesity and associated comorbidities may have a considerable impact on healthcare expenditures. The aim of this systematic review was to summarise cost estimates and compare costs attributable to obesity across different European countries. A structured search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and all EBM Reviews was conducted to identify relevant literature. Two researchers independently assessed publications according to pre-defined inclusion criteria and with regard to study methodology. Costs attributable to obesity were extracted from the included studies and calculated relative to country-specific gross domestic income. Out of 797 publications that met our search criteria, 13 studies investigating 10 Western European countries were determined to be relevant and included in our review. Obesity-related healthcare burdens of up to 10.4 billion euros were found. Reported relative economic burdens ranged from 0.09% to 0.61% of each country's gross domestic product (GDP). Obesity appears to be responsible for a substantial economic burden in many European countries, and the costs identified in the available studies presumably reflect conservative estimates. There remains a great need for prospective and standardised studies to provide more accurate estimates of costs for all European countries.

Relation between body mass index, physical inactivity and use of prescription drugs: the Doetinchem Cohort Study

“…6 Because of the clear epidemiological association between overweight and several diseases, it is not surprising that health-care expenditures for obese/overweight persons are higher than for normal weight persons. 7 In the Netherlands and other western countries prescription drugs constitute a large part of the health-care expenditures. 8 Most of the diseases associated with overweight are chronic in nature, and thus require chronic medication.…”

“…6,7,9,10,12 Also medication data were mostly obtained through self-report, 13,[15][16][17][18][19] although some studies used data of GP records 9,10 or records of drug reimbursements. 11,12,14 For this study, data of the Doetinchem Cohort Study are used with measured rather than self-reported data on BMI.…”

Can Health and Environmental Concerns Meet in Food Choices?

“…These behaviors have adverse consequences on human health by increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, raised blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, cancer and metabolic syndrome [3,4]. With the spreading of the obesity epidemic in many industrialized countries, the economic sustainability of the public-health system is threatened as a result of increasing medical expenditures due to these diet-related diseases [23,24].…”

“…With respect to gender, the sample is representative of the population of the Lombardy region, to which Milan belongs. The sample is also representative of the Lombardy population for the age category 26-40, while there is an over-representation of young individuals (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) and an under-representation of older ones (>65). This could be due to the fact that Milan is a university city and there are many students who live in the city, but are not actually residents.…”

Feeding the economics of obesity in the EU in a healthy way

“…Life-styles, mainly, sedentary and high intake of calories derived from products containing intense doses of energy-dense elements such as fats and sugar together with the greater amount of food intake are the major responsible for the obesity positive trends. Genetics are believed to only account for a marginal 1% of the cases [1,2].Health consequences of obesity have also been frequently studied, and the list of related conditions keeps growing (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, some cancers, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, disabilities, psychosocial problems, etc). These diseases are mostly chronic, their trends, again, are positive, and the final result is a lower life expectancy, estimated around 9 years less on average.…”