SynthesisBMJ open2017
Productivity loss due to overweight and obesity: a systematic review of indirect costs.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 131 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
131 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Obesity, Employment, and Economic Productivity in Europe: A Systematic Literature Review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- Adolescent obesity and risk of serious chronic morbidity and mortality in young adulthood: a systematic review of cohorts from national registries.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2026Pooled it
- Association of obesity with musculoskeletal health and functional mobility in females-a systematic review.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Pooled it
- Validity and Reliability of Resting Energy Expenditure Measured by Indirect Calorimetry in Adults with Overweight and Obesity: a Rapid Systematic Review.Obesity surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Factors that influence an individual's decision to undergo bariatric surgery: A qualitative systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Economic costs of obesity: a systematic review.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2024Pooled it
- Occupational Health of Health-Care Workers with Overnutrition: Scoping Review with Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Methods for the economic evaluation of obesity prevention dietary interventions in children: A systematic review and critical appraisal of the evidence.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2022Pooled it
- Influence of Nutrition, Food and Diet-Related Interventions in the Workplace: A Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regression.Nutrients · 2021Pooled it
- Robotic Single Anastomosis Duodenal-ileal Bypass With Sleeve Gastrectomy (SADI-S) for Morbid Obesity: A Systematic Review.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Pooled it
- People With Lowest Physical Functioning Scores Showed Greatest Improvement After Tirzepatide Treatment.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026Trial
- Food Sources and Nutrient Intakes of Filipino Working Adults.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Impact of Obesity on Individuals in Saudi Arabia: A Real-World Patient and Physician Survey.Advances in therapy · 2026Article
- Beyond medical care: public health insurance, caloric intake, and labor productivity in rural China.Health economics review · 2026Article
- Validation of the Obesity Lifecycle Model Built to Assess the Cost Effectiveness of Novel Therapies in the Management of Obesity.PharmacoEconomics - open · 2026Article
- Factors associated with obesity among female workers in small and cottage industries in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- The moderating effect of emotional eating behaviour on body fat percentage in women.BMC public health · 2026Article
- A treat-to-target approach for obesity management: A post hoc analysis of the SURMOUNT-5 trial.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Observational
- A Review of the Management of Obesity in Primary Care.Clinical obesity · 2026Review
- The Economic Cost of Obesity: A Cost-of-Illness Study in Greece.Applied health economics and health policy · 2026Article
71 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe increasingly high levels of overweight and obesity among the workforce are accompanied by a hidden cost burden due to losses in productivity. This study reviews the extent of indirect cost of overweight and obesity.
methodsA systematic search was conducted in eight electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science Core Collection, PsychInfo, Cinahl, EconLit and ClinicalTrial.gov). Additional studies were added from reference lists of original studies and reviews. Studies were eligible if they were published between January 2000 and June 2017 and included monetary estimates of indirect costs of overweight and obesity. The authors reviewed studies independently and assessed their quality.
resultsOf the 3626 search results, 50 studies met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis of the reviewed studies revealed substantial costs due to lost productivity among workers with obesity. Especially absenteeism and presenteeism contribute to high indirect costs. However, the methodologies and results vary greatly, especially regarding the cost of overweight, which was even associated with lower indirect costs than normal weight in three studies.
conclusionThe evidence predominantly confirms substantial short-term and long-term indirect costs of overweight and obesity in the absence of effective customised prevention programmes and thus demonstrates the extent of the burden of obesity beyond the healthcare sector.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.