Overweight Europeans weigh on health costs
Source: Agencies |
November 17, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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MORE than half of Europeans are obese or overweight, adding significant pressure to healthcare costs at a time when spending is being cut by governments, the OECD and European Commission said yesterday.
On average across the European Union, health spending per capita rose by 4.6 percent a year in real terms from 2000 to 2009, but fell 0.6 percent in 2010.
In a report on health across the 27-nation bloc, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Brussels-based commission said 52 percent of adults in the EU are now overweight or obese.
The report blamed physical inactivity and the widespread availability of energy-dense, sugary and fatty foods.
In 18 of the 27 member states, the share of overweight and obese adults exceeds 50 percent and the obesity rate, at 17 percent on average across the region, has doubled since 1990 in many countries.
"(The rise) is a major public health concern," the report said. "Because obesity is associated with higher risks of chronic illnesses, it is linked to significant additional healthcare costs."
The report noted that the growing cost burden coincided with governments around Europe cutting spending to reduce the debts left over from the 2008 financial crisis.
"Spending had already started to fall in 2009 in countries hardest hit by the economic crisis," it said. "But this was followed by deeper cuts in 2010 in response to growing budgetary pressures and rising debt-to-GDP ratios."
As a result, EU members spent an average of 9 percent of their gross domestic product on health in 2010, up from 7.3 percent in 2000, but down from a peak of 9.2 percent in 2009. The Netherlands was the highest, devoting 12 percent of its GDP to health in 2010.
On average across the European Union, health spending per capita rose by 4.6 percent a year in real terms from 2000 to 2009, but fell 0.6 percent in 2010.
In a report on health across the 27-nation bloc, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Brussels-based commission said 52 percent of adults in the EU are now overweight or obese.
The report blamed physical inactivity and the widespread availability of energy-dense, sugary and fatty foods.
In 18 of the 27 member states, the share of overweight and obese adults exceeds 50 percent and the obesity rate, at 17 percent on average across the region, has doubled since 1990 in many countries.
"(The rise) is a major public health concern," the report said. "Because obesity is associated with higher risks of chronic illnesses, it is linked to significant additional healthcare costs."
The report noted that the growing cost burden coincided with governments around Europe cutting spending to reduce the debts left over from the 2008 financial crisis.
"Spending had already started to fall in 2009 in countries hardest hit by the economic crisis," it said. "But this was followed by deeper cuts in 2010 in response to growing budgetary pressures and rising debt-to-GDP ratios."
As a result, EU members spent an average of 9 percent of their gross domestic product on health in 2010, up from 7.3 percent in 2000, but down from a peak of 9.2 percent in 2009. The Netherlands was the highest, devoting 12 percent of its GDP to health in 2010.
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