The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006–07 NHS costs

Summary

This paper provides an updated estimation of the economic burden placed on the NHS by five major modifiable risk factors: poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity, recalculated to reflect 2006–07 NHS cost data. Using attributable fraction methodology, the authors apportion healthcare expenditure across disease categories to each risk factor. The study is likely to have found that diet and obesity together represent a substantial share of the overall burden, though precise figures should be verified against the published article.

UK applicability

The study is conducted entirely within a UK context and uses NHS cost data, making its findings directly applicable to UK health policy, public health strategy and resource allocation decisions. It provides a quantitative basis for prioritising interventions targeting lifestyle-related disease.

Key measures

NHS costs attributable to risk factors (£ millions); disease-specific cost breakdowns; proportion of total NHS expenditure attributed to each lifestyle risk factor

Outcomes reported

The study estimated the NHS costs attributable to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity, updating previous figures to 2006–07 expenditure data. It quantified the relative financial burden of each risk factor across disease categories.

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