Being overweight is not just a personal challenge – it is a global economic crisis by taking place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his recent Mann Ki Baat, has not only pointed out obesity as a health problem but as an imminent financial disaster for India and the world.
The economic burden of obesity increases at an alarming rate, threatening the growth of GDP, the productivity of the workforce and health systems in the world.
In India alone, obesity costs were $ 28.95 billion in 2019, representing 1% of GDP. If current trends persist, this burden could triple at 81.53 billion dollars (1.57% of GDP) by 2060 and soar $ 838.6 billion (2.5% of GDP), in accordance at the World Obesity Observatory.
The economic survey 2023-24 has issued a striking warning: “If India needs to harvest the gains of its demographic dividend, it is essential that the health parameters of its population pass towards a balanced and diversified diet.”
The problem is not limited to India. Globally, obesity costs should consume 3.6% of GDP by 2025, Thailand should lose 4.9% of its GDP and the United Arab Emirates 11.04% by 2060 .
These losses arise from direct medical expenses, loss of productivity and systemic ineffectiveness. In the United States, obesity costs 260.6 billion dollars per year in medical costs – without what individuals of normal weight engage. By 2060, health expenses related to global obesity should reach 18 dollars, even exceeding the economic report of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Obesity affects labor markets in several ways. Absenteeism costs American employers 26.8 billion dollars a year, as obese employees are lacking three additional days per year. The presence, during reduced physical endurance and cognitive efficiency, a drop in labor productivity, represents a drop of 15 to 30% of efficiency. The allegations of disability linked to musculoskeletal disorders based on obesity cost $ 31.1 billion per year. In physically demanding sectors such as construction and hospitality, productivity losses exceed 5%.
Sources: World Health Organization (WHO), World Obesity Federation
Beyond productivity losses, obesity directly affects wages and employment. Obese white women earn 11.9% less than their normal weight counterparts. In roles for customers, an increase in gap, a standard of body fat reduces wages by 2.7% for women. The hiring of discrimination leads to a drop in employment rates of 8% for obese workers, savings that cost costs such as the United Kingdom 3.6 billion pounds sterling per year in unrealized human capital.
Chronic obesity decreases the participation of 3.4% workforce in OECD countries, while the United States lost 2.6 billions of dollars in federal tax revenues per decade due to unemployment Obesity focused. Infantile obesity reduces the level of education, reducing the lifetime profits from $ 19,000 to $ 40,000 per child. By 2060, obesity could reduce Australia’s GDP by 3.49% and Mexico by 5.01%.
A sedentary lifestyle and increasing dependence on ultra-transformed foods (UPF) fuel the crisis. Economic survey 2024-25 urged the action, calling for warning labels on high sugar, high-salt and fat-rich food, to the limited marketing of junk food (especially children) , to the elimination of UPFs from schools, hospitals and public spaces and subsidies on healthier foods such as Millets, Fruits and Vegetables. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), the UPF sector of India increased to a TCAC of 13.37% from 2011 to 2021.
Household expenditure data of the Household Consumer Consumer Expert (HCS) 2022-23 show that rural households go 9.6% of their food budget to processed foods, while urban households spend 10, 64%.
Despite these warnings, India still has no cohesive national obesity strategy. Although there are policies for children’s nutrition and vulnerable groups, no complete plan deals with obesity in all demographic data. In a report to you, the retirement scientist Avula Lakshmaiah of the National Nutrition Institute warned: “The loss of means of subsistence, the costs of opportunity and the emotional assessment due to the lack of societal support also contribute significant to this economic burden. “
Prime Minister Modi urges the big names to join India’s struggle against obesity, recognizing that the inversion of this trend requires public-private collaboration. Governments around the world are already acting. Sugar tax in Australia ($ 0.40 / 100 g) should reduce the prevalence of obesity by 2% and generate $ 500 million per year for prevention programs. The American diabetes prevention program saves $ 4,300 per participant over 15 years thanks to lifestyle interventions. Bariatric surgery, although costly ($ 32,868 per procedure), reduces the use of long -term health care by 29%.
