LAUSR

OBJECTIVE To analyze the economic burden of obesity and four obesity-related chronic diseases in rural Yunnan Province, China. STUDY DESIGN A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among rural residents in Yunnan Province. A multistage stratified random sampling approach was applied to collect a sample of the population aged ≥35 years in this region. METHODS Questionnaires were conducted and measurements were taken from 5040 participants. A two-step model was used to measure direct economic burden of disease, whereas a human capital approach was applied to measure indirect economic burden. RESULTS The prevalence of general obesity, central obesity, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke was 7.1%, 37.0%, 35.3%, 9.9%, 3.8%, and 1.7%, respectively, while obese participants as expected had a higher risk of the aforementioned four obesity-related illnesses than their counterparts (P < 0.01). The total, direct, and indirect costs of the four illnesses were $30,350.8 million, $28,642.5 million, and $1708.3 million, respectively, with 12.7% attributable to general obesity and 28.7% attributable to central obesity. CONCLUSIONS The economic burden of the four studied chronic diseases attributable to obesity in rural Yunnan Province is substantial. Interventions for controlling obesity should be applied to prevent obesity-related diseases and reduce the economic burden of disease.