Vincenzo Atella, Federico Belotti, Matilde Giaccherini, Gerardo Medea, Antonio Nicolucci, Paolo Sbraccia, Andrea Piano Mortari
We use longitudinal electronic clinical data on a large representative sample of the Italian population to estimate the lifetime profile costs of different BMI classes - normal weight, overweight, and obese (I, II, and III) - in a primary care setting. Our research reveals that obese patients generate the highest cost differential throughout their lives compared to normal weight patients. Moreover, we show that overweight individuals spend less than those with normal weight, primarily due to reduced expenditures beginning in early middle age...
February 6, 2024: Economics and Human Biology