Brussels, 17/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - Cuts in healthcare budgets today may bring public expenditure down in the short term, but will lead to higher costs in the future, particularly for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, the think tank European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) stressed at a panel discussion at the European Parliament on 10 April.
Obesity is rising steadily in the European Union and needs a long-term investment plan, as the chronic diseases brought about by obesity will only continue to weigh down the public health insurance systems, ECIPE warns. Obesity is the number-one risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as type II diabetes, cancer and cardiorespiratory diseases. This concern is shared by the European Association for the Study of Obesity, which is calling for targeted assistance from a young age. Its president, Gema Frühbeck, points out that “we are always speaking about adults, but we have very big prevalences of obesity in children and adolescents and they are going to be for sure obese adults, especially when they have suffered from this from a very early age. So the impact of their health care and health costs is likely to multiply”. Conditions contracted due to obesity increase with a person's age. On the basis of OECD statistics, ECIPE estimates that if no measures are taken by the public authorities, healthcare expenditure in the countries of the zone will rise from an average of 5.7% of GDP in 2005 to 9.6% in 2050. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (United States), Spain and Germany, for example, will reach record healthcare expenditure levels, taking up 25.6% and 21.4% of GDP respectively by 2050. “In terms of public health policy, the imminent scenario of an ageing population suffering to a great extent from overweight and obesity suggests that healthcare investments aiming at preventing chronic diseases ought to be a priority”, the think tank states. “Governments need to get a much better control and a much better understanding about the effects of health care spending and what effects they are going to have in the short-term and in the long-term”, ECIPE director, Fredrik Erixon, concludes. (IL/transl.fl)