Burden of illness review of obesity: are the true costs realised?

Obesity can no longer be viewed as merely a cosmetic or social problem, but must be acknowledged as a serious disease, responsible for the premature death and morbidity of millions and for significant expenditure of limited healthcare resources. In addition, there are significant costs to the individual with regard to social status and quality of life. It has been argued that obesity is one of the most important preventable causes of ill health in the UK today. This is especially important when one considers that the incidence of obesity is actually rising, with 13% of men and 16% of women in the UK in 1997 being obese. To begin treating such a disease it is essential to raise awareness of this problem, not only from the associated morbidity and mortality risks that have been well documented, but the socio-economic and psychological costs. This paper reviews the literature available globally, giving some measure of the magnitude of the associated burden of illness.