The Economic Effect of Planet Health on Preventing Bulimia Nervosa

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the economic effect of the schoolbased obesity prevention program Planet Health on preventing disordered weight control behaviors and to determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention in terms of its combined effect on prevention of obesity and disordered weight control behaviors.Design: On the basis of the intervention's short-term effect on disordered weight control behaviors prevention, we projected the number of girls who were prevented from developing bulimia nervosa by age 17 years. We further estimated medical costs saved and qualityadjusted life years gained by the intervention over 10 years. As a final step, we compared the intervention costs with the combined intervention benefits from both obesity prevention (reported previously) and prevention of disordered weight control behaviors to determine the overall cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Setting: Middle schools.Participants: A sample of 254 intervention girls aged 10 to 14 years.Intervention: The Planet Health program was implemented during the school years from 1995 to 1997 and was designed to promote healthful nutrition and physical activity among youth. Main Outcome Measures:Intervention costs, medical costs saved, quality-adjusted life years gained, and costeffectiveness ratio.Results: An estimated 1 case of bulimia nervosa would have been prevented. As a result, an estimated $33 999 in medical costs and 0.7 quality-adjusted life years would be saved. At an intervention cost of $46 803, the combined prevention of obesity and disordered weight control behaviors would yield a net savings of $14 238 and a gain of 4.8 quality-adjusted life years.

A systematic review of the health-related quality of life and economic burdens of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder

“…Data on healthcare costs were reported in 17 studies: 9 for AN [58, 60, 61, 70–75], 11 for BN [31, 34, 58, 60, 61, 73, 75–79], and 2 for BED [39, 68]. In the reviewed studies, the annual healthcare costs for AN, BN, and BED ranged from €2993 [61] to €55,270 [71], €888 [78] to €18,823 [79], and €1762 [39] to €2902 [68], respectively (Table 2).…”

Accelerating Progress in Eating Disorders Prevention: A Call for Policy Translation Research and Training

“…A series of STRIPED economic studies have been designed to address this trigger to action by contributing to the evidentiary base on economic costs and savings achievable through primary and secondary prevention. The first of these studies, conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, documented the substantial cost savings of Planet Health, a middle school nutrition and physical activity health promotion program, that can be attributed to its primary preventive effects for early adolescent girls on both obesity (Gortmaker et al, 1999;Wang, Yang, Lowry, & Wechsler, 2003) and onset of eating disorder symptoms (Austin et al, 2005(Austin et al, , 2007Wang, Nichols, & Austin, 2011). In a second economic study, conducted in response to policy advocacy in Virginia, New York, and elsewhere calling for secondary prevention through eating disorders screening for young people, our team used simulation methods to estimate the costeffectiveness of universal eating disorder screening in U.S. middle and high schools compared to the current practice of no screening in U.S. schools.…”

Eating disorders should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with acute kidney injury and electrolyte derangement

“…It is well documented that the prevalence of eating disorders is increasing in men and women3 with considerable medical, social and functional burdens 4. There are three postulated mechanisms of renal involvement in anorexia nervosa:

Chronic dehydration and hypokalaemia;

Nephrocalcinosis;

Chronic rhabdomyolysis 2

…”