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Interventions to reduce childhood obesity may cut health care costs

Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, removing tax subsidies for marketing unhealthy food to kids and setting nutrition standards for food and drinks sold in schools would prevent thousands of cases of childhood obesity, in addition to saving more money than they would cost to implement, according to recently published data.

“These results indicate that primary prevention of childhood obesity should be the remedy of choice. Four of the interventions studied here have the potential for cost savings — that is, the interventions would cost less to implement than they would save over the next 10 years in health care costs — and would result in substantial numbers of childhood obesity cases prevented,” Steven L. Gortmaker, PhD, professor of health sociology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote.

Gortmaker and colleagues conducted a systematic review and used a microsimulation model of national implementation from 2015 to 2025, to assess the efficacy and cost savings of seven different interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of childhood obesity. Interventions included in the analysis were:  sugar-sweetened beverage excise tax; elimination of tax subsidy for advertising unhealthy food to children; calorie labeling on restaurant menus; nutrition standards for school meals; nutrition standards for all food and beverages sold in schools; improved early care and education; and increased access to adolescent bariatric surgery.                                                                          

Results demonstrated that three of the seven interventions, sugar-sweetened beverage tax, tax subsidy elimination and nutrition standards for food and drinks sold in schools, would prevent 576,000, 129,100 and 345,000 cases of childhood obesity by 2025. Additionally, all three interventions would save more money in health care costs than they would cost to implement.

More research is needed on the impact of labeling restaurant menus, according to the researchers. Although they found the intervention would result in cost savings, they could not identify to what extent calorie intake would be reduced among consumers.

Gortmaker and colleagues noted that two of the interventions, sugar-sweetened beverage tax, tax subsidy elimination, could produce considerable revenue, which could be used toward backing other obesity prevention interventions.

“Our results highlight the importance of investing in prevention for policy makers aiming to reduce childhood obesity. Interventions early in the life course have the best chance of reducing long-term obesity prevalence and related mortality and health care costs,” Gortmaker said in a press release. – by Casey Hower

Disclosures: Healio.com/Family Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.