[The cost of obesity on the Danish health care system]

The prevalence of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities in the Danish adult population is continuously rising and demands on the Danish health care system are consequently increasing. Quantitative measures of the economic costs related to obesity constitute a necessary basis for the organization of treatments, health promotion and for health policies.

On the basis of studies of the prevalence of obesity in the Danish adult population and estimates of the increased risk of co-morbidity among obese, the number (and a sensitivity-interval) of hospital contacts in 2003 was calculated. Based on the results of these calculations and on treatment rates for the identified diagnosis-groups, the costs related to the treatment of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities were estimated.

In 2003 177,703 hospital contacts in Denmark were related to obesity. The costs related to these contacts summed up to euro 137.3 mill. (euro 88.8-174.0 mill.), corresponding to 2.8% (1.8-3.6%) of the running costs at Danish hospitals.

The results of this analysis are equivalent to the results from similar analyses from other European countries with comparable health care systems. The health-economic costs related to obesity in Denmark depend on the prevalence of obesity and as a consequence are expected to rise as the current obesity epidemic further develops.