title: The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006-07 NHS costs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Estimates of the economic cost of risk factors for chronic disease to the NHS provide evidence for prioritization of resources for prevention and public health. Previous comparable estimates of the economic costs of poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and overweight/obesity were based on economic data from 1992-93.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diseases associated with poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and overweight/obesity were identified. Risk factor-specific population attributable fractions for these diseases were applied to disease-specific estimates of the economic cost to the NHS in the UK in 2006-07.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2006-07, poor diet-related ill health cost the NHS in the UK £5.8 billion. The cost of physical inactivity was £0.9 billion. Smoking cost was £3.3 billion, alcohol cost £3.3 billion, overweight and obesity cost £5.1 billion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The estimates of the economic cost of risk factors for chronic disease presented here are based on recent financial data and are directly comparable. They suggest that poor diet is a behavioural risk factor that has the highest impact on the budget of the NHS, followed by alcohol consumption, smoking and physical inactivity.
authors.affiliation: British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK. peter.scarborough@dph.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scarborough
authors.forename: Prachi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.forename: Kremlin K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Wickramasinghe
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allender
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rayner
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology