ArticleBMC public health2025
Indirect costs constitute a major part of the total economic burden of obesity: a Finnish population-based cohort study.
Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of oral semaglutide on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with or without diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2026 · on this mapPooled it
- Economic Burden of Overweight and Obesity in Sweden: Current Estimates and Future Projections.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Physical Exercise in Obesity and Metabolic Bariatric Surgery: The First Latin American Consensus.Obesity surgery · 2026Article
- Genetic and Environmental Effects on BMI Fluctuation Across the Adult Life Course and Its Associations With Baseline BMI and BMI Change: An Individual-Based Study of 14 Longitudinal Twin Cohorts.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Long-Term Cost and Health Impact of a Digital Obesity Intervention in Germany: Economic Modeling Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Obesity in Late Adolescence and Healthcare Costs in Young to Mid-Adulthood.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
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9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe growing prevalence of overweight and obesity (OB) poses a considerable economic burden worldwide. However, nationally representative, detailed analyses estimating the total burden of OB are few. We characterized direct, indirect, and total costs of overweight and obesity in a population-based cohort of Finnish adult individuals and evaluated the additional total costs attributed to overweight and obesity.
methodsThe study cohort included 5,587 randomly-selected individuals (≥18 years of age) who participated in the national FinHealth 2017 health examination survey. The main study group consisted of working-age individuals (18-64 years of age; n = 3,914). Individual-level data were collected from the nationwide registers by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (healthcare resource utilization), Social Insurance Institution of Finland (prescription medications, sick leaves, disability pensions, rehabilitation periods), and Statistics Finland (deaths). Indirect costs were calculated using the Human Capital Approach, and direct costs were based on the medication purchases and healthcare resource use.
resultsThe mean annual indirect costs were €1,683 (SD, €6,395) per person for the working-age individuals with normal-weight (NW), €2,957 (€8,797) for individuals with overweight (OW), €4,488 (€11,607) for individuals with class I obesity (OBI), and €4,654 (€11,383) for individuals with class II-III obesity (OBII-III). The mean annual total (direct + indirect) costs were €3,314 (SD, €8,358) per person in the NW, €4,902 (€10,747) in the OW, €7,129 (€14,313) in the OBI, and €7,372 (€14,423) in the OBII-III groups. Compared with individuals with NW, OW was associated with 31% (rate ratio, RR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.09-1.58; p = 0.005), OBI with 83% (RR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.46-2.28; p < 0.001), and OBII-III with 95% (RR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.48-2.55; p < 0.001) higher total costs in working-age individuals. When adjusted for age and sex, the predicted total annual cost difference per person was €1,124 for OW, €3,002 for OBI, and €3,443 for OBII-III compared with a person with NW.
conclusionsIndirect costs constitute a major part of the total costs of obesity in the working-age population. Compared with NW, the total costs are significantly higher not only for severe obesity, but also for OW and OBI.
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