The total economic cost associated with overweight and obesity* in the US and Canada is around $US300 billion annually, according to an actuarial obesity study.1, 2 Of this total, approximately $220 billion is due to obesity and 90% is attributed to the US.
Based primarily on research articles published between January 1980 and June 2009, the study conducted by the Society of Actuaries examined the economic costs of overweight and obesity caused by increased need for medical care, and loss of economic productivity resulting from excess mortality and disability.1
The study's calculation of a $300 billion price tag arises from $127 billion in total costs of excess medical care caused by overweight and obesity, and $49 billion, $43 billion and $72 billion, respectively, for economic loss of productivity caused by excess mortality, by disability for active workers and by overweight or obesity for totally disabled workers.
"Overweight and obesity have been shown to increase the rate of several common adverse medical conditions, resulting in this extraordinary economic cost to society. We can't stand back and ignore the fact that overweight and obesity are drivers of cost increases and detrimental economic effects", says Don Behan, one of the lead authors.
* Overweight and obesity were defined as a BMI of 25.0-29.9 and ≥ 30, respectively.
[Reference]
1. Society of Actuaries.New Society of Actuaries Study Estimates $300 Billion Economic Cost Due to Overweight and Obesity. Media Release: 10 Jan 2011. Available from: URL: http://www.soa.org. .
2. Behan DF, Cox SH, Lin Y, Pai J, Pedersen HW, Yi M.Obesity and its Relation to Mortality and Morbidity Costs. Internet Document: [80 pages], Dec 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment