The challenge of tackling the obesity economic burden: The case of Uruguay

Abstract

The estimation of the burden of a disease is one of the tasks with the longest tradition in Health Economics, which allows us to know the volume of resources that a country allocates to a specific health problem, and to compare countries and diseases. Although the fundamental objective of Health Systems is not to reduce the cost of the disease, but to improve the health of the population, the studies of burden of disease establish the economic seriousness of the problem, orienting the priorities of action. Government-funded medical expenditure in Uruguay for the last ten years has tripled in US dollars. The increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity has contributed to this growth. According to the World Health Organization, Uruguay has the highest growing trend in the prevalence of both overweight and obesity in South America. We have previously estimated that economic burden linked to obesity will be more than US$500 million by 2020, a figure close to 1% of the country’s GDP. In this study, we tried to generate a measure of value to ascertain the cost of inaction in the fight against obesity and its consequences linked to several non-communicable diseases. The cost of inaction is not defined as the cost of not doing, but as the cost of not implementing the right policies (in this case health prevention policies) at the right time.

Identificación del mejor punto de corte de la prueba inmunoquímica de sangre oculta en heces en la detección de lesiones colorrectales avanzadas y neoplásicas

“…There are, however, some limitations of this study, with the main one being that the short and long-term patient outcomes are unknown for those who did not proceed to colonoscopy with a positive FIT. Furthermore, the results from this tertiary center may not be generalizable to smaller hospitals with different patient demographics as other risks influence mortality such as associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease or infection, population pyramid, and the prevalence of overweight or obese individuals [37][38][39] .…”

Collateral damage during the attention for COVID-19 pandemic

“…In Uruguay, for example, where there is a high prevalence of colorectal cancer, the reported prevalence of overweight (> 25 kg/m 2 ) and obesity (30 kg/m 2 ) is 64.5 [59.8-69.2] and 28.9 [23. 7-34.4], respectively, with a risk increase 13 . In addition, the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease between 50 and 79 years of age is 41% 14 .…”

El daño colateral de la atención de la pandemia de COVID-19

“…Por otra parte, existen otros factores que pueden incrementar la mortalidad asociada a neoplasia e infección, como son el incremento de la pirámide poblacional y las enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles. En Uruguay, por ejemplo, donde hay una alta prevalencia de cáncer colorrectal, la prevalencia de sobrepeso (> 25 kg/m 2 ) y de obesidad (30 kg/m 2 ) reportada es de 64.5 [59.8-69.2] y 28.9 [23.7-34.4], respectivamente, con un incremento del riesgo 13 . Además, el riesgo de mortalidad por enfermedad cardiovascular entre los 50 y los 79 años es del 41% 14 .…”