Vitality has found that modifiable health risks, such as high blood pressure and smoking, were linked to over $730bn in healthcare spending in the US in 2016.
Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and Vitality Group found the costs were largely due to five health risks: overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, poor diet, and smoking.
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In addition, spending associated with risk factors in 2016 made up 27% of the $2.7trn spent on healthcare in the US.
Francois Millard, chief actuarial officer, Vitality Group, and a study author, said: “Given that US healthcare expenses are almost double that of other developed nations, we set out to understand how much of these costs could be attributed to modifiable risk factors.
“While the relationship between lifestyle risks and medical conditions is understood, this is the first study to offer a comprehensive analysis of health spending related to these risks. This helps inform how our society is investing its resources, and why health should be at the centre of all policy discussion, not just those related to sickness. We are seeing with COVID-19 that prevention is paramount to our own health and the health of our economies. It’s time to apply the same urgency to these other preventable diseases.”
Dr Keith Klintworth, managing director, VitalityHealth added: “This is a significant study that illustrates the huge costs tied to poor diets, high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity.
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By GlobalData“This new data comes at a time when health has been catapulted to the forefront of people’s minds, and is a timely reminder for a renewed focus on preventing and managing these key risks early before they turn into costly diseases and illnesses.
“At Vitality we want to help more people get active and live healthy lives and we can see that by engaging in our Vitality Programme, members can realise the numerous benefits of taking care of their health and wellbeing.”
