Economic analysis of a school-based obesity prevention program.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of Planet Health, a school-based intervention designed to reduce obesity in youth of middle-school age children.


METHODS
Standard cost-effectiveness analysis methods and a societal perspective were used in this study. Three categories of costs were measured: intervention costs, medical care costs associated with adulthood overweight, and costs of productivity loss associated with adulthood overweight. Health outcome was measured as cases of adulthood overweight prevented and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) saved. Cost-effectiveness ratio was measured as the ratio of net intervention costs to the total number of QALYs saved, and net-benefit was measured as costs averted by the intervention minus program costs.


RESULTS
Under base-case assumptions, at an intervention cost of $33,677 or $14 US dollars per student per year, the program would prevent an estimated 1.9% of the female students (5.8 of 310) from becoming overweight adults. As a result, an estimated 4.1 QALYs would be saved by the program, and society could expect to save an estimated $15,887 USD in medical care costs and $25,104 USD in loss of productivity costs. These findings translated to a cost of $4305 USD per QALY saved and a net saving of $7313 USD to society. Results remained cost-effective under all scenarios considered and remained cost-saving under most scenarios.


CONCLUSIONS
The Planet Health program is cost-effective and cost-saving as implemented. School-based prevention programs of this type are likely to be cost-effective uses of public funds and warrant careful consideration by policy makers and program planners.
Wang
Li Yan
LY
Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS K-33, Chamblee, GA 30341, USA. lgw0@cdc.gov
Yang
Quanhe
Q
Lowry
Richard
R
Wechsler
Howell
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009765:Obesity / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011336:Probability; D012572:School Health Services / Q000191:economics*