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Lifetime Productivity Losses Associated with Obesity Status in Early Adulthood

A Population-Based Study of Swedish Men

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Abstract

Background: Obesity is a well-known risk factor for sick leave, disability pension and premature death. Obesity is therefore presumably related to in-creased productivity losses.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the lifetime productivity losses to society associated with obesity status.

Methods: This study was based on a 38-year follow-up of a nationwide cohort of 45 920 Swedish men performing mandatory military conscription tests at age 18.7±0.5 years. Body mass index (BMI) based on measured height and weight at the time of military conscription tests was used to define underweight (<18.5kg/m2), normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) and obesity (≥30.0kg/m2). Data on sick leave, disability pension and premature death were retrieved from national registers. The calculations were adjusted for socioeconomic index, smoking and muscular strength.

Results: Using the human capital approach, the lifetime productivity losses were calculated as 55.6 (95% CI 50.7, 62.0) × €1000 and 55.6 (95% CI 50.9, 61.4)× €1000 for underweight and normal weight, respectively, and 72.6 (95% CI 66.3, 80.7)× € 1000 and 95.4 (95% CI 89.0, 102.9) × € 1000 for overweight and obesity, respectively. If using the friction cost method instead, the estimated productivity losses were reduced by about 80%.

Conclusion: Obesity is associated with almost twice as high productivity losses to society as for normal weight over a lifetime. These costs are important to include in health economic analyses of obesity intervention programmes in order to ensure an effective allocation of resources from a societal perspective.

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Acknowledgements

MN was funded by Arbetsmarknadens försäkrings- och aktiebolag. No specific funding was used for KN, CR and FR. No funding bodies had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

All authors conceived and designed the study. KN performed all statistical analyses, analysed and interpreted the data, and drafted the article. FR, CR and MN contributed with acquisition and interpretation of the data, and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. KN is the guarantor of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Kristian Neovius PhD & Finn Rasmussen

  2. Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Clas Rehnberg

  3. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Martin Neovius

Authors
  1. Kristian Neovius PhD
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  2. Clas Rehnberg
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  3. Finn Rasmussen
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  4. Martin Neovius
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Correspondence to Kristian Neovius PhD.

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Neovius, K., Rehnberg, C., Rasmussen, F. et al. Lifetime Productivity Losses Associated with Obesity Status in Early Adulthood. Appl Health Econ Health Policy 10, 309–317 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03261865

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