The cost of obesity and overweight in 2005: a case study of Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this paper is to highlight the potential impact of costs associated with overweight and obesity for provincial policy and prevention initiatives.

Method: Prevalence-based cost-of-illness methodology was used to estimate the direct costs (hospital care, drugs, physician care, institutional care, additional costs) and indirect costs (short- and long-term disability, premature mortality) associated with excess weight for 22 health conditions. Total costs for each health condition were estimated using the Public Health Agency of Canada's Economic Burden of Illness database. Population attributable fractions (PAF) were also estimated using 2004 and 2005 CCHS data and current literature reviews.

Results: In 2005, the cost of excess weight in Alberta totaled $1.27 billion. The direct cost of excess weight was $630.1M (49.5%), the indirect cost $643.8M (50.5%). Excluding costs associated with premature mortality and caregiving, obesity accounted for 69.5% ($500.8M) of costs and overweight the remaining 30.5% ($220.2M). Among the 22 health conditions, coronary heart disease had the highest costs attributable to excess weight ($307.1 M), followed by osteoarthritis ($167.7M) and type 2 diabetes ($161.5M). The total cost of excess weight equated to 5.6% of the province's annual health care expenditures for 2005.

Conclusion: While obesity costing research often focuses on the direct health care costs, this study reveals that the indirect costs of excess weight are also significant and can account for over half of the total costs. Interventions to reduce excess weight among Canadians have the potential to improve the health of the population while reducing provincial and national health care costs.