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Obesity morbidity and health care costs in France: an analysis of the 1991–1992 Medical Care Household Survey

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the direct medical costs associated with obesity in France.

DESIGN: Analysis of the French 1991–1992 National Household Survey database comprising a representative sample of 14,670 individuals aged 18 y and over. A subgroup of subjects with a body mass index (BMI)≥30 kg/m2 was compared with a control group of normal-weight individuals (BMI 18.5–25 kg/m2) matched on age, gender and education level.

MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported weight and height used to calculate individual body mass index and health expenditures in a 3 month period, and morbidity as declared by respondents to the national household survey and verified on medical records.

RESULTS: The direct cost attributable to obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2) was estimated to be in the range 4.2–8.7 billion French Francs (FF) in 1992 value, that is between 0.7 and 1.5% of total health expenditures.

CONCLUSION: These results were of the same order of magnitude as similar estimates obtained by a top-down approach for the same year and setting.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by an unrestricted grant from Roche France Laboratories.

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Correspondence to B Detournay.

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Detournay, B., Fagnani, F., Phillippo, M. et al. Obesity morbidity and health care costs in France: an analysis of the 1991–1992 Medical Care Household Survey. Int J Obes 24, 151–155 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801099

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