Obesity in Asia-Pacific costs US$166 bn a year, study finds

An estimated 41 per cent of adults in Asia and the Pacific are overweight or obese, up from 36 per cent in 1993. This surge is a growing burden for health systems and economies, yet the costs of obesity are unknown.
A new Asian Development Bank Institute study by Matthias Helble and Kris Francisco fills this gap and provides cost estimates for 42 economies in Asia and the Pacific. The authors estimate that obesity relates to almost 12 per cent of total medical care expenditures and about 0.78 per cent of GDP, or US$166 billion (Bt5.8 trillion), every year. Obesity has thus become a serious threat to the prosperity of the region and needs urgent action.