Question

what are the economic consequences that contribute to obesity

Write in a paragraph essay

Answer 1

There are several reasons for the private and social costs of obesity, and their results can be gloomyly forecast with only a slight accuracy. Of the most damaging is the increased prevalence of diabetes, 60 per cent of which can be directly related to weight gain. There are currently around one billion people worldwide who are overweight or obese, compared to 850 million who are chronically underweight. It is projected that the number of people with diabetes worldwide will grow from 175 million in 2000 to 353 million in 2030, with India and China responsible for 24 per cent of the total number in 2050. Obesity and its economic consequences are faced on three occasions

At the individual level, obesity imposes costs by limiting personal opportunities in many ways, only some of which can be quantified. In the workforce (assuming that the obese are working, which they may not be due in part to their condition), the expenses are borne by employees due to reduced efficiency, absences, underperformance and higher insurance rates, which are very wide overall. Eventually, obesity impacts spending by local , state and national governments, where the services reimburse or offset some of the private and labor costs of disease and unemployment.

One of the most commonly reported economic effects of the obesity crisis is direct medical expenditure. Obesity is associated with a higher risk of many serious health problems, such as obesity , type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, coronary heart disease ( CHD), stroke, asthma and arthritis. Direct medical spending on diagnosing and treating these conditions is therefore likely to increase with increasing rates of obesity. Several reports offer retrospective or prospective estimates of the prevalence of disease that could be related to obesity and the severity of the associated direct medical costs.

In addition to the direct medical cost of obesity, a variety of other indirect costs are part of the overall economic effects of obesity. Empirically, the greatest impact on productivity plays a major role. Obesity productivity costs have been well documented in a variety of studies, with a broad consensus that these costs are substantial, but with significant differences in magnitude between individual estimates.