[Obesity and health economics. Review and status]

Abstract

Cost-of-illness analyses are concerned with the societal economic impact of obesity such as treatment-costs and lost production related to morbidity and mortality. As regards allocation of resources a growing number of cost-effectiveness analyses of different interventions have appeared. In addition several economic analyses look at how obesity affects wage level and how the use of price-subsidies affects the consumption of products and services. Most recently health economic analyses of possible explanations of the rise in the prevalence of obesity have emerged.