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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Its often thought that reducing the nations obesity rate will also reduce healthcare costs. But a new study finds that is not true -- in fact, researchers say preventing obesity actually increases public spending on medical care costs because people live longer and develop diseases associated with aging.
Obesity is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and is associated with high medical costs. But it has not been clear if reducing obesity would actually reduce medical costs. Study authors from the Netherlands created patient groups with a wide variety of lifestyle choices, including smoking and being overweight, then projected each groups lifetime cost of medical care.
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Study authors say the group of healthy, never smoking individuals had the highest lifetime healthcare costs because they lived the longest and developed diseases associated with aging. The lowest cost group was -- believe it or not -- the smokers!
Researchers say while this shows reducing obesity may not be a cure for reducing healthcare costs, they say reducing obesity may well contribute to better overall health of the nation.
In an accompanying perspective, Klim McPherson from Oxford University says it would be wrong to interpret this study to mean that preventing obesity has no benefits. McPherson says one also has to consider the quality of life by those not obese and other factors.
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SOURCE: Published online in PLoS Medicine, February 5, 2008
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