More than 2 trillion US dollars could be added to the world economy if overweight and obesity prevalence remain at 2019 levels, campaigners have warned.
A study by the World Obesity Federation and RTI International has found that the economic impact of overweight and obesity is estimated to rise from 2.19% to 3.3% of GDP in 161 countries.
Writing in *BMJ Global Health*, the authors warn the countries expected to have the largest economic cost of overweight and obesity are China (over $10 trillion), the United States (over $2.5 trillion) and India (nearly $850 billion).
Altogether, overweight and obesity prevalence is likely to cost the global economy 3.3% of GDP by 2060 – up from 2.19% of global GDP now.
The study analysed the current economic impact of overweight and obesity in 161 countries, producing the first country-specific global estimate of the economic impacts of the non-communicable disease (NCD) as a result of obesity.
The team found that $2.2 US trillion could be saved a year if the number of people living with obesity remained at 2019 levels, while a 5% reduction in the projected prevalence of the NCD between 2020 and 2060 would lead to an average of $429 US billion in global annual savings.
While the largest economic cost of overweight and obesity are expected to be in China, USA, and India, other countries that are expected to shoulder economic costs of overweight and obesity of more than $100 US billion include Germany, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the UK and Japan.
The researchers predict that the economic loss due to overweight and obesity will disproportionately affect lower-resourced countries, with total economic costs likely to increase by four times in high-income countries compared to between 12-25 times in low and middle-income countries.
Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Obesity Federation said: “These estimates of the economic impact of overweight and obesity should alarm governments across the world. The persistent stigmatisation of people living with obesity and policies that do not reflect the most recent evidence have led to failing approaches that ignore obesity’s root causes.
“This study has highlighted the need for urgent, concerted and holistic action to address the global rise in overweight and obesity prevalence. We can alter this through the right policy and private sector attention to reduce factors in the environment that can cause the non-communicable disease. Doing so will help to boost the wellbeing of people, provide economic gains and improve resilience to disease outbreaks.”
* Noncommunicable (NCDs) diseases and their risk factors are the global top killers, outnumbering infectious diseases, new data from the World Health Organization showed yesterday.
Its report, *Invisible numbers: The true extent of noncommunicable diseases and what to do about them*, also shows cost-effective and effective interventions that can save lives and money.
Every two seconds, one person under the age of 70 dies of an NCD, and 86% of those deaths are in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
An NCD data portal has the latest country-specific data, risk factors and policy implementation for 194 countries, enabling scientists to explore the data for the four NCDs – cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – and their main drivers and risk factors of tobacco use, unhealthy diet, harmful use of alcohol and lack of physical activity.
The portal enables researchers to compare patterns across countries or within geographical regions.
The report and data portal are published after it was revealed this year that only a handful of countries were on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target on reducing early deaths from NCDs by a third by 2030.
Okunogbe A, Nugent R, Spencer G et al. Economic impacts of overweight and obesity: current and future estimates for 161 countries. *BMJ Global Health* 21 September 2022; doi 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009773
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