title: Economic burden of underweight and overweight among adults in the Asia-Pacific region: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the economic burden of underweight and overweight among adults in the Asia-Pacific region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review of articles published until March 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen suitable articles were found, of which 13 assess the economic burden of overweight/obesity and estimate that it accounts for 1.5-9.9% of a country's total healthcare expenditure. Four articles on the economic burden of underweight estimate it at 2.5-3.8% of the country's total GDP. Using hospital data, and compared to normal weight individuals, four articles estimated extra healthcare costs for overweight individuals of 7-9.8% and more, and extra healthcare costs for obese individuals of 17-22.3% and higher.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite methodological diversity across the studies, there is a consensus that both underweight and overweight impose a substantial financial burden on healthcare systems in the Asia-Pacific region.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammad Enamul
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hoque
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Munim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mannan
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.|Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kurt Z
authors.initials: KZ
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Mamun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001208:Asia; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D017048:Health Care Costs; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000191:economics*; D044349:Oceania; D050177:Overweight / Q000191:economics; D013851:Thinness / Q000191:economics*
keywords: Economía; bajo peso; cost; coste; coût; economics; insuffisance pondérale; overweight and obesity; sobrepeso y obesidad; surpoids et obésité; underweight; économie