Obesity harder on health than smoking - Research Update - Brief Article

Melpomene Journal, Spring-Summer, 2002

LOS ANGELES, March 12 Obesity exacts a higher toll on health and healthcare costs than either smoking or drinking has, and serious obesity-related problems like diabetes are near epidemic levels, according to a (recent) study.

"Smoking and drinking, which are on the decline, have been the focus of research and policy work for years. Yet obesity, which can have far more serious health consequences, has received far less interest," said Roland Sturm, author of the study and a researcher at the UCLA/RAND Managed Care Center for Psychiatric Disorders in Santa Monica, California.

The study found that obesity -- linked to health complications including diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers -- raises a person's healthcare costs by 36 percent and medication costs by 77 percent.

The RAND study, based on a 1998 US household telephone survey of about 10,000 adults, found that people who are obese have 30 percent to 50 percent more chronic medical problems than smokers or problem drinkers.

Obesity rates in the United States nearly doubled in the 1990s -- from around 12 percent in 1990 to 23 percent in 1998, when the study was conducted. The recent Surgeon General's report said 27 percent of Americans are obese, and 61 percent are overweight.

In terms of dollar amounts, the study found that obesity raised healthcare costs by an average of $395 a year, while smoking increased costs by $230 and heavy drinking is associated with a $150 annual increase.

Sturm said higher taxes on cigarettes have played a big role in deterring people from smoking, but a similar approach to weight control -- the so-called "twinkie tax"--is unlikely to work.

[C] 2002 Reuters Limited; Deena Beasley