BAGUIO CITY – The President of the Philippine Association for the study of overweight and obesity said the illness will continue to affect the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 2.4 percent, needing that the people and the government act in unison.
Dr. Nemesio Nicodemus Jr., president of the Philippine Association for the study of overweight and obesity during the “Engaging Media for Health Literacy” conference of the Department of Health (DOH) Central office’s communication management unit (CMU) on Thursday in Baguio City said “it is a problem because it has an economic impact with individuals needing more health care and services and decreases the productivity of people.”
He said that based on the study they conducted shows that in 2020, the healthcare impact of body mass index has caused the government 553 million US dollars which by 2025 will cost the government about 1.68 million US dollars or is estimated to be 2.4 percent of the country’s GDP.
In 2020, the country spent about 1.6 percent of the GDP to address the impact of obesity and overweight; 1.7 percent in 2025; 2 percent by 2030; and 2.4 percent in 2035.
He said that in April 2022, the DOH issued Circular 02040 identifying overweight and obesity as among the priority areas in health that must be provided focus.
This came after experts from multi-sectors came up with the Philippine clinical practice guidelines for the screening and diagnosis of obesity to guide practitioners on how to properly manage and treat the disease.
“Obesity now considered as an illness needs to be treated because it can lead to more problems like heart problem, cancer, infertility diabetes, kidney ailment carrying risk factors like stroke, hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, pulmonary embolism, chronic back pain, gallstones, incontinence and other physical malfunctions,” the doctor said.
He added that with the ailment, persons who are obese also develop mental problems like depression and anxiety as a result of the many illnesses that goes with it, not to mention the body shaming received by the person.
He added that with obesity, it is not just the individual and the family having to spend more funds for health care and medication, the government also has to spend for the person considering the government supplies and resources that needs to be provided as a result of the person’s obesity.
He pointed out that the government through the DOH aims to improve the health of persons, reason for the preventive part of the services being provided under the universal health care law.
“The top priority goal is to improve the health of people, improve the quality of life and improve the body weight and composition which is just the third.
Based on a 30-years trend, the doctor said that from 16.6 percent prevalence of obesity among 20 years old and above in the country in 1993, it has ballooned to 36.6 percent in 2019
“There is doubling of obesity rate in the country with 4 out of 10 Filipinos being obese based on a World Health Organization standard but is 66 percent or 6 out of 10 Filipinos using the Asia WHO-Asia Pacific standards,” the doctor added.
Health risks leading to expenses
Nicodemus said that with obesity as a disease, it has become the 7th leading cause of death and disability from 2009 to 2019.
“A person can die young instead of becoming productive and be able to contribute to the economy due to the health risks involved in being an obese,” he said.
He added that individual people’s decisions and actions play an important role in preventing obesity.
The doctor said that 70 percent of a person’s obesity is genetics which can be aggravated by lifestyle that includes eating habits and physical exercise.
“Few steps a day will contribute to one’s health but reducing food intake is a leap to avoiding obesity,” he said. By Liza T. Agoot
