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Economic burden of underweight and overweight among adults in the Asia‐Pacific region: a systematic review
Author(s) -
Hoque Mohammad Enamul,
Mannan Munim,
Long Kurt Z.,
Mamun Abdullah Al
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/tmi.12679
Subject(s) - underweight , overweight , medicine , obesity , environmental health , health care , healthcare system , demography , economic growth , economics , sociology
Objective To assess the economic burden of underweight and overweight among adults in the Asia–Pacific region. Method Systematic review of articles published until March 2015. Results Seventeen suitable articles were found, of which 13 assess the economic burden of overweight/obesity and estimate that it accounts for 1.5–9.9% of a country's total healthcare expenditure. Four articles on the economic burden of underweight estimate it at 2.5–3.8% of the country's total GDP . Using hospital data, and compared to normal weight individuals, four articles estimated extra healthcare costs for overweight individuals of 7–9.8% and more, and extra healthcare costs for obese individuals of 17–22.3% and higher. Conclusion Despite methodological diversity across the studies, there is a consensus that both underweight and overweight impose a substantial financial burden on healthcare systems in the Asia–Pacific region.