Health Economics of Obesity

Hill, S; Oluboyedi, Y; Becker, F

doi:10.1016/B978-0-323-48559-3.00002-6

Health Economics of Obesity

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sarah Hill ORCiD, Dr Yemi Oluboyede, Dr Frauke Becker

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Abstract

Obesity rates have been increasing over decades, and obesity is now considered one of the most important medical and public health problems. Excess body fat is defined as a major risk factor for several common disorders contributing to increased morbidity and mortality and placing a substantial burden on healthcare systems and economies. Defining weight gain as a consequence of individual behaviors associated with specific food patterns, dietary compositions, and calorie expenditure allows to describe obesity as a preventable condition. A better understanding of the obesogenic environment and how it affects individual behaviors may help to guide effective public health policies and to identify effective interventions and treatments in a clinical context. Although the pathways leading to obesity are not entirely clear, the associated costs can be more easily quantified on individual, societal, and healthcare system level. In the context of scarce health resources, economic evaluations can be used to model the long-term costs and health-related outcomes as well as the relative cost-effectiveness of interventions and treatments compared with alternative measures. These models allow for consideration of varying environmental factors as well as individual characteristics and can help in predicting outcomes on individual and societal levels. Results can be used to guide health policies and identify the best-targeted approaches and the most effective and cost-effective interventions when tackling the obesity problem.