The ballooning global obesity epidemic is taking as much of a toll on the health of rich and not-so-rich economies as on the people lugging around all that extra weight.
Obesity costs the global economy about $2-trillion (U.S.) annually, or 2.8 per cent of global GDP, says a study by the McKinsey Global Institute. When it comes to adverse economic impact, that puts the fat issue in roughly the same ball park as smoking and the combination of armed violence, war and terrorism. And the number of overeaters is rising at a faster clip.
The study puts the obesity tab between 2 and 7 per cent of all health care spending in developed countries. Add the cost of treating diabetes and other diseases linked to the problem and the price tag can run as high as 15 to 20 per cent of total expenditures.
Many overweight people put no strain on the health system. But many others pose a growing economic burden in terms of medical costs and reduced productivity.
The study reckons nearly 30 per cent of the world population ranges from overweight to obese. That’s more than 2.1 billion people – outnumbering those regarded as undernourished. And if the current trend continues, the report glumly notes that close to half of adults will be overweight by 2030. What’s worse, obesity in poor countries is climbing to the same level as in industrial economies as incomes rise.
Obesity is much more than a health issue, McKinsey director Richard Dobbs, one of the lead authors, said in a podcast. It’s “a major economic and business challenge” that will require a wide battery of interventions to reverse.
The study’s authors acknowledge they are swimming in treacherous waters. “Almost everyone reading this discussion paper will disagree with some parts of it, partly because of the polarized nature of the debate on obesity but arguably more because obesity is a complex, systemic issue with no simple solution.”
