Obesity and overweight in Canada: an updated cost‐of‐illness study

Abstract

This study is to update the estimates of the economic burden of illness because of overweight and obesity in Canada by incorporating the increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity, findings of new related comorbidities and rise in the national healthcare expenditure. The burden was estimated from a societal perspective using the prevalence-based cost-of-illness methodology. Results from a literature review of the risks of 18 related comorbidities were combined with prevalence of overweight and obesity in Canada to estimate the extent to which each comorbidity is attributable to overweight and obesity. The direct costs were extracted from the National Health Expenditure Database and allocated to each comorbidity using weights principally from the Economic Burden of Illness in Canada. The study showed that the total direct costs attributable to overweight and obesity in Canada were $6.0 billion in 2006, with 66% attributable to obesity. This corresponds to 4.1% of the total health expenditures in Canada in 2006. The inclusion of newly identified comorbidities increased the direct cost estimates of obesity by 25%, while the rise in national healthcare expenditure accounted for a 19% increase. Policies to reduce being overweight and obese could potentially save the Canadian healthcare system millions of dollars.

Overweight and obesity among Dutch workers: differences between occupational groups and sectors

“…For example, Colditz (1999) estimated the direct health care costs due to obesity in the United States to be 70 billion US dollar, representing 7% of the total health care costs. Studies from other countries, like Canada (Anis et al 2009), the Netherlands (van Baal et al 2006), and Switzerland (Schmid et al 2005) found somewhat lower, but still substantial proportions of the total national health care costs that are attributable to obesity, namely approximately 4%. As to the indirect costs including the value of economic output lost because of illness, injury-related work disability, or premature death, Katzmarzyk and Janssen (2004) estimated the total costs of obesity at Can$ 4.3 billion with the majority of the costs (63%, Can$ 2.7 billion) involving indirect costs.…”

The economic consequences of obesity and overweight among adults in Quebec

“…For example, in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) estimated that, in 2008, obesity engendered direct costs of nearly $2 billion, 2 whereas Anis et al calculated direct costs of $6 billion for 2006. 3 The difference between the findings can be explained by the fact that Anis et al included the costs of overweight in addition to the costs stemming from obesity in their calculation and covered 18 diseases associated with excess weight, while PHAC confined itself to obesity and only 8 diseases. This article presents the results of a study on the economic burden of obesity and overweight among adults in the province of Quebec, for which no estimates have previously been produced.…”

Monoacylglycerol as a Metabolic Coupling Factor in Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion

“…According to the American Obesity Association, nealy one third of the total US population is affected by obesity with a similar situation in Canada. A report from the National Diabetes Surveillance System indicated that approximately 25% of all Canadian adults are obese as are 10% of the children (Anis et al, 2010).…”