Obesity-related diseases to cost India $13 bn by 2025: Report

The annual cost of treating the consequences of obesity such as heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, depression and many types of cancer will reach a staggering $13 billion in India by 2025, according to a new experts estimate.

The global annual medical cost of treating these serious consequences of obesity is expected to reach $1.2 trillion per year by 2025, data from the World Obesity Federation released on Tuesday showed.

In India, the annual cost of treating these consequences is estimated to reach $13 billion or cumulative costs of $90 billion between now and 2025.

The percentage of Indian adults living with obesity is set to jump to around 10 per cent (3.1 per cent male and 6.9 per cent female) by 2025 from 7.5 per cent (2.3 per cent male and 5.2 per cent female) in 2014, the new analysis, ahead of World Obesity Day on Wednesday, revealed.

The data demonstrated how investing in the prevention, early intervention and treatment of obesity is a cost-effective action for governments and health services.

Investment can also help to achieve the 2025 targets set by the World Health Organisation to halt the rise in obesity and to achieve a 25 per cent relative reduction in mortality from noncommunicable diseases.

"Obesity is now a worldwide epidemic which absorbs a vast amount of our healthcare resources. The annual medical costs of treating the consequences of obesity such as diabetes and heart disease is truly alarming," said Ian Caterson, President of World Obesity Federation.

"With an estimated 177 million adults suffering severe obesity by 2025, it is clear that governments need to act now to reduce this burden on their national economies," Caterson added.

--IANS

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