The economic burden of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia

<b>Context</b>: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia has been rising. Although the health burden of excess weight is well established, little is known about the economic burden. <b>Aims</b>: To assess the economic burden—both direct medical costs and the value of absenteeism and presenteeism—resulting from overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia. <b>Settings and Design</b>: The cost of overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia was estimated from a societal perspective using an epidemiologic approach. <b>Methods and Materials</b>: Data were obtained from previously published studies and secondary databases. <b>Statistical analysis used: </b>Overweight/obesity-attributable costs were calculated for six major noncommunicable diseases; sensitivity analyses were conducted for key model parameters. <b>Results: </b>The impact of overweight and obesity for these diseases is found to directly cost a total of $3.8 billion, equal to 4.3 percent of total health expenditures in Saudi Arabia in 2019. Estimated overweight and obesity–attributable absenteeism and presenteeism costs a total of $15.5 billion, equal to 0.9 percent of GDP in 2019. <b>Conclusions: </b>Even when limited to six diseases and a subset of total indirect costs, results indicate that overweight and obesity are a significant economic burden in Saudi Arabia. Future studies should identify strategies to reduce the health and economic burden resulting from excess weight in Saudi Arabia.