Cost of obesity in Alberta : Genuine progress index Atlantic Canada : measuring sustainable development

In present circumstances where GDP-based measures and economic considerations hold sway in the policy arena, however, economic costing studies such as this one can be vital strategic tools to draw awareness to the true burden of obesity and illness and to the economic value of a healthier populace that are hidden in GDP- based measures, and thus to capture the attention of policy makers and their [...] In the long term, this work is intended to demonstrate that previously hidden social and natural capital assets and non-material contributions to our quality of life may be extraordinarily valuable, and thus to bring these values and assets more fully into the policy arena for the benefit and wellbeing not only of people with obesity who directly suffer adverse health consequences, but also of the [...] Because of the high proportion of health conditions among the elderly and the high health care costs incurred by the elderly, estimates of the attributable fraction are sensitive to relative risks among the elderly.23 The importance of using such methods to account for key confounding factors is confirmed by James Robins of the Harvard School of Public Health, who notes that failing to stratify by [...] Potential costs of obesity that are based on the 2004 CCHS data are also provided by gender and age group for diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease in Part 2 of this report, and these costs are also presented for illustrative purposes because of the high sampling variability of the data. [...] Summary of Alberta Cost of Obesity and Overweight Results This report found that the total direct and indirect costs attributable to overweight and obesity in Alberta for 22 health conditions—for which there exists good epidemiological evidence of partial links to obesity—were $1,189.1 million ($C2005), after inflating 2000 costs to 2005 dollars to reflect use of 2004-05 obesity and disease preval