Economic Consequences of Obesity in Pakistan

Abstract

The study estimates the economic consequences and the economic impacts of obesity in Pakistan. The direct cost of obesity is estimated which includes the economic costs of diseases attributable to obesity which includes diabetes and heart diseases as these two diseases are very common in Pakistani population. The direct costs are estimated using the prevalence-based approach to the cost of illness. The direct medical costs are estimated of both overweight and obese individuals and non-obese individuals. The indirect cost of obesity is also estimated which includes the productivity costs, cost of work-days lost absenteeism and bed-days attributable to obesity. The data used is the 2010 Pakistan Panel Household Survey (PPHS). The total direct and indirect costs of obesity show that the indirect cost is higher as compared to the direct cost of obesity. Moreover, the study also takes into account the major determinants of overweight and obesity. Multinomial logistic model has been used to estimate the determinants of obesity. The results show that genes are a very important determinant of obesity. Moreover, food consumption of individuals is also very important those who spend more on food are more overweight and obese as compared to those who spend less on food consumption. The study finds out that the health of Pakistani individuals is being affected badly due to increased rate of overweight and obesity in Pakistan which directly affects the economic conditions of the individuals and the society as a whole.