BROOKLINE, Mass., Oct 11, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Two
landmark studies published this month in Archives of Internal Medicine
and the American Journal of Public Health, quantify for the first time
the substantial health risks of obesity and the benefits that even a
modest amount of weight loss can confer for individual patients. Both
studies examine the individual risks and benefits over a lifetime. The
studies are especially timely as more than one-half of the U.S.
population is overweight or obese. Obesity is increasingly being viewed
as a chronic disease by medical professionals and has been established
by the American Heart Association as a major, modifiable risk factor
for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
"We know from prior studies that obesity increases the risk of several
major diseases and that it costs the US health-care system as much as
$50 billion annually. But this is the first study to put a figure on
the increase in lifetime risk as well as the economic impact at the
level of the individual patient," said lead investigator David
Thompson, Ph.D., of Policy Analysis, Inc. (PAI), a health economic
research firm in Brookline, Mass.
Measuring Personal Risks and Costs for Obesity Both studies are based
on data relating a person's degree of obesity to their risks of five
major diseases -- coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high
blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. In these studies, obesity
was measured in terms of body mass index, or BMI, which is calculated
by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters.
The first study, which was published in today's issue of Archives of
Internal Medicine, reports that persons with high BMIs have higher
lifetime risks of obesity-related diseases. For example, men 45-to-54
years of age who are moderately obese (BMI of 32 kg/m2) have more than
twice the lifetime risk of developing high blood pressure of nonobese
men (BMI of 22.5 kg/m2) of the same age, and almost three times the
risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Risks are even greater among those
who are severely obese.
With these increased disease risks comes a shorter life expectancy --
one year less on average for moderately obese men and women who are
45-to-54 years old. The study also reported that obesity results in
higher lifetime medical-care costs -- approximately $10,000 for
middle-aged men or women who are moderately obese, and even higher for
those who are severely obese.
Benefits of Losing Weight and Keeping It Off In a companion study
published in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health
by the American Public Health Association, the same team of
investigators examined the health and economic benefits of sustained
moderate weight loss of 10 percent among persons who are overweight or
obese. They reported that moderate weight loss would substantially
reduce the expected number of years of life that people would have
hypertension, type 2 diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. The likelihood
of developing coronary heart disease was estimated to be reduced by 12
to 38 cases per 1,000 persons, and that of stroke by 1 to 13 cases per
1,000. These reductions in disease risks also were reported to
translate into longer life expectancies and lower lifetime medical care
costs.
Gerry Oster, Ph.D., lead investigator on the second study and also with
PAI, explained, "The good news from our study is that a sustained 10
percent weight loss can help you live healthier and longer, and also
can substantially reduce your medical-care costs. The challenge is to
keep the weight off. Obesity, like other chronic diseases, needs to be
managed over the long-term. With the advent of more effective
pharmacotherapies for the management of obesity, achieving and
maintaining a 10 percent weight loss may be within reach."
Data for both studies were drawn from the Third National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the Framingham Heart Study and
other secondary sources. All costs are in 1996 dollars. The studies
were supported by a research grant from Knoll Pharmaceutical Company,
developer and manufacturer of MERIDIA(R) (sibutramine hydrochloride
monohydrate) C-IV Capsules, a weight loss medication.
Policy Analysis Inc. (PAI) is a health economic research firm located
in Brookline, Mass. PAI has conducted similar studies on smoking, high
blood cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
