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. 2023 Dec 13;10(1):e726.
doi: 10.1002/osp4.726. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Clinical, economic, and health-related quality of life outcomes in patients with overweight or obesity in the United States: 2016-2018

Joanna P MacEwan  1 , Kevin Chiu  2 , Nadia N Ahmad  3 , Naomi Sacks  4 , Shraddha Shinde  3 , Jiat Ling Poon  3 , Hong Kan  3
Affiliations

Clinical, economic, and health-related quality of life outcomes in patients with overweight or obesity in the United States: 2016-2018

Joanna P MacEwan et al. Obes Sci Pract. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate clinical, economic (including productivity), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes and associated individual characteristics among adults with overweight (OW) or obesity in the United States.

Methods: This study included adult respondents with body mass index (BMI) ≥18.5 kg/m2 in the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Respondents were classified according to BMI. Individual characteristics were described by BMI categories. Multivariable regression models estimated the association between BMI categories and outcomes, adjusting for individual characteristics.

Results: Nearly three-quarters (73.7%) of NHANES participants were OW or obese. Relative to Normal weight (NW), respondents with Class 3 obesity had more obesity-related complications (2.07 vs. 4.62, p < 0.001). Higher BMI was associated with significantly lower HRQoL, lower productivity, and higher healthcare expenditures as well as more frequent weight loss attempts in the previous 12 months. Weight loss surgery and prescription anti-obesity medications (AOMs) were used only by a very small proportion of individuals. Despite frequent weight loss attempts, most respondents did not achieve clinically meaningful weight loss.

Conclusions: Adults with OW or obesity experienced worse clinical, economic and HRQoL outcomes than those with NW. Better use of evidence-based obesity treatments, including prescription AOMs, should be considered to achieve more clinically meaningful weight reduction and improved outcomes in individuals with OW or obesity.

Keywords: HRQoL; obesity; outcomes; overweight.

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Conflict of interest statement

Joanna MacEwan is a current employee of Genesis Research Group and a former employee of PRECISIONheor, which are both research consultancies in the health and life science industries. Kevin Chiu is a current employee of Santa Clara Unive and a former employee of PRECISIONheor. Hong Kan, Nadia N. Ahmad, Shraddha Shinde, and Jiat Ling Poon are employees and shareholders of Eli Lilly and Co.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The prevalence of obesity‐related complications among the population with overweight (OW) or obesity using body mass index (BMI) category, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018. ‡ Among females only, † among males only. CVD, cardiovascular disease; ESRD, end‐stage renal disease; HF, heart failure; NAFLD, non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease.
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