Research Information System
OBESITY FACTS, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Introduction:Obesity is considered not only a public healthissue on a global scale but also a disease adversely affectingthe world economies. Economic impact of overweight andobesity has not yet been investigated in T & uuml;rkiye at a nationallevel. This study aimed to investigate the impact of obesityon healthcare costs in T & uuml;rkiye and to estimate the overallnational economic burden of obesity.Methods:The studywas based on a cross-sectional analysis of retrospectivelypooled data from 2009 to 2014 payer claims data and2014-2019 T & uuml;rkiye Health Survey (THS). In thefirst step,obesity-related annual per person overall health expendi-tures in adults with obesity were calculated and calculationswere also made in subgroups of payer and healthcarecategories. In the second step, using the developed model,the national economic disease burden of adult obesity wasestimated, along with the projections for the estimatedexpenditures over the next 30 years. Economic values wereadjusted according to US dollar values of 2021 purchasingpower parities (PPPs) (PPP 1.0 = 2.782 TRY).Results:Theannual healthcare costs were significantly higher in indi-viduals with obesity than in those with normal body massindex (BMI) (odds ratio 1.243; 95% confidence interval:1.206-1.281), and the cost increment was positively corre-lated with higher BMI (by 117% in class I obesity vs. 169% inclass III obesity,p<0.001). In the year 2021, obesity-relateddirect and indirect costs in adults were estimated to be PPP27.4 billion and 39.5 billion, respectively. The total economic burden was estimated to be PPP 66.9 billion, which isequivalent to 2.6% of gross national product. Direct medicalcost of obesity corresponds to 8.4% of total health expen-diture in T & uuml;rkiye.Conclusions:Obesity is both an individualand social health problem, which emphasizes the potentialrole of a range of stakeholders, besides the health sector, inaddressing this problem. The indirect costs comprise the keycost driver of the total national cost of obesity, which formsthe rationale for population-wide policy interventions to-ward prevention or reduction of obesity.(c) 2024 The Author(s).Published by S. Karger AG, Basel