LONDON - Preventing obesity & smoking can save lives, but it doesn’t save funds, researchers reported Monday.
It costs more to care for healthy people who live years longer, according to a Dutch study that counters the common perception that preventing obesity would save governments millions of dollars.
“It was a small surprise,” said Pieter truck Baal, an economist at the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health & the Environment, who led the study. “But it also makes sense. If you live longer, then you cost the health system more.”
In a paper published online Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal, Dutch researchers found that the health costs of narrow & healthy people in adulthood are more expensive than those of either overweight people or smokers.
Truck Baal & colleagues created a model to simulate lifetime health costs for two groups of 1,000 people: the “healthy-living” group (narrow & non-smoking), overweight people, & smokers. The model relied on “cost of illness” information & illness prevalence in the Netherlands in 2003.
On average, healthy people lived 84 years. Smokers lived about 77 years, & overweight people lived about 80 years. Smokers & overweight people tended to have more heart illness than the healthy people.
The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, overweight people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers & the overweight people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run.
The cost of care for overweight people was $371,000, & for smokers, about $326,000.
Cancer incidence, except for lung cancer, was the same in all two groups. overweight people had the most diabetes, & healthy people had the most strokes. Ultimately, the narrow & healthy group cost the most, about $417,000, from age 20 on.
The results counter the common perception that preventing obesity will save health systems worldwide millions of dollars.
It costs more to care for healthy people who live years longer, according to a Dutch study that counters the common perception that preventing obesity would save governments millions of dollars.
“It was a small surprise,” said Pieter truck Baal, an economist at the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health & the Environment, who led the study. “But it also makes sense. If you live longer, then you cost the health system more.”
In a paper published online Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal, Dutch researchers found that the health costs of narrow & healthy people in adulthood are more expensive than those of either overweight people or smokers.
Truck Baal & colleagues created a model to simulate lifetime health costs for two groups of 1,000 people: the “healthy-living” group (narrow & non-smoking), overweight people, & smokers. The model relied on “cost of illness” information & illness prevalence in the Netherlands in 2003.
On average, healthy people lived 84 years. Smokers lived about 77 years, & overweight people lived about 80 years. Smokers & overweight people tended to have more heart illness than the healthy people.
The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, overweight people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers & the overweight people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run.
The cost of care for overweight people was $371,000, & for smokers, about $326,000.
Cancer incidence, except for lung cancer, was the same in all two groups. overweight people had the most diabetes, & healthy people had the most strokes. Ultimately, the narrow & healthy group cost the most, about $417,000, from age 20 on.
The results counter the common perception that preventing obesity will save health systems worldwide millions of dollars.
Very interesting article. I have to read it even more carefully.;) At least now I know I do not have to completely abstain from pizzas.;)
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Zuzana