. 2025 May 28;23(1):297.

doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-04109-8.

Economic burden attributable to high BMI-caused cancers: a global level analysis between 2002 and 2021

Jiacheng Zheng¹, Laiang Yao^{2

3}, Katie Lei⁴, Wanying Huang⁵, Yi Jie Zhou Luo⁶, Priscilla Hui-Xuan Tran⁷, Aaron Guan⁸, Yueyi Qiu⁹, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi¹⁰, Don Lucero-Prisno Eliseo 3rd¹¹, Claire Chenwen Zhong^{12

13}, Martin C S Wong^{14

15}, Junjie Huang^{16

17}; Global Health Focus Epidemiology Group (GHFEG)

Affiliations

¹ Birmingham Business School, College of Social Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
² The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
⁵ Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁸ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
¹⁰ Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹¹ Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
¹² The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. chenwenzhong@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹³ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. chenwenzhong@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁴ The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. wong_martin@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁵ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. wong_martin@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁶ The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. junjie_huang@link.cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁷ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. junjie_huang@link.cuhk.edu.hk.

PMID: 40437534
PMCID: PMC12121180
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-025-04109-8

Economic burden attributable to high BMI-caused cancers: a global level analysis between 2002 and 2021

Jiacheng Zheng et al. BMC Med. 2025.

. 2025 May 28;23(1):297.

doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-04109-8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Birmingham Business School, College of Social Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
² The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
⁵ Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁸ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
¹⁰ Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
¹¹ Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
¹² The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. chenwenzhong@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹³ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. chenwenzhong@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁴ The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. wong_martin@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁵ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. wong_martin@cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁶ The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. junjie_huang@link.cuhk.edu.hk.
¹⁷ Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. junjie_huang@link.cuhk.edu.hk.

PMID: 40437534
PMCID: PMC12121180
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-025-04109-8

Abstract

Background: Obesity and overweight are prevailing concerns in modern society, but high BMI shows an established correlation with the risk of cancers that impacts not only medical issues but also economic performance. This study analyzes the economic loss due to high BMI-caused cancers (HBCCs).

Methods: This study used the comprehensive Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 database and estimated the economic loss of HBCCs through the Value of Statistical Life approach (VSLA), incorporating a willingness-to-pay metric. Health burdens are expressed in age-standardized DALYs and death rates, and economic burdens are shown in dollars lost (2021 PPP) calculated from total DALYs. A joinpoint regression analysis was utilized to capture the temporal trends, cancer incidence, and economic losses attributed to high BMI across various countries and income levels. We calculated the average annual percentage change (AAPC) in total economic loss to evaluate the trend over the study period.

Results: There is a growing trend in both economic loss and disease burden of HBCCs on a global level. Colon and rectum cancer (CRC) show the highest economic loss ($2593.159 million, UI: 1109.04-4119.61, to $7294.52 million, UI: 3134.75-11,511.13), with pancreatic (AAPC: 10.47*, CI: 8.01-13.51) and liver cancer (AAPC: 8.08*, CI: 5.77-10.35) being the fastest growing cause. The cancer burden for all measures positively correlates with the country's income level; high-income countries are the only group to experience a decreasing trend in the health burden, but they are still increasing in economic burden. Differences in loss of certain types of cancer and gender gap are observed in different income tiers.

Conclusions: These findings indicate a significant upward trend in economic loss, highlighting the urgency for strengthened policy measures. It is crucial for policymakers to implement effective risk reduction and resilience-building strategies to mitigate future economic loss and better protect vulnerable communities.

Keywords: Different income tiers; Economic burden; High BMI-caused cancers; Value of Statistical Life Approach.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (No. SBRE-20–332). The requirement for informed consent to participate has been waived by the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Joinpoint regression for general trends in economic loss

**Fig. 2**
Cancer-specific economic loss

**Fig. 3**
Percent of DALYs caused by high BMI for a specific type of cancer

**Fig. 4**
Economic loss per 1000 people in 2002

**Fig. 5**
Economic loss per 1000 people in 2001

**Fig. 6**
Temporal trends in different income tiers

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Economic burden attributable to high BMI-caused cancers: a global level analysis between 2002 and 2021

Affiliations

Economic burden attributable to high BMI-caused cancers: a global level analysis between 2002 and 2021

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

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