Impact of obesity on economics and quality of life in Thailand (in Thai language)

Impact of obesity on economics and quality of life in Thailand

  Obesity is regarded as a disease that requires appropriate treatment. At the global level, obesity is ranked the 6th among factors that cause diseases. The economic impact of obesity is substantial. The objective of this study was to estimate that healthcare cost and cost of productivity loss due to premature mortality attributable to obesity in Thailand, in 2009. This was a prevalence-based cost-of-illness study. The obesity-attributable factions (OAFs), proportion of disease in a population which is attributable to obesity, were calculated for each disease associated with obesity. OAFs can be calculated using information on the prevalence of obesity and relative risk for each disease. The number of patients in each disease category attributable to obesity was then calculated as the product of OAFs, as well as the total number of patients with that disease in 2009. The health care cost of obesity were further estimated by multiplying the number of patients in each disease category attributable to obesity by the unit cost of treatment. The cost of productivity loss due to premature mortality was calculated using the human capital approach.   Health care cost attributable to obesity in this study were estimated at 5,581 million baht (ie., out-patient department = 848 million baht and in-patient department = 4,733 million baht), which accounted for about 2.01% of national health expenditures. Premature mortality costs attributable to overweight and obesity was estimated at 9,328 million baht. The total cost of obesity was then estimated at 14,909 million baht, accounting for 0.19% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The results of this study indicated that the economic impact of obesity in Thailand is substantial. Related organizations should pay attention in implementing more effective policies/interventions aimed at increasing awareness of the negative economic impact of obesity, as well as reducing the prevalence of obesity.