The influence of BMI, obesity and overweight on medical costs: a panel data perspective

Toni Mora, Joan Gil and A. Sicras-Mainar

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: This paper estimates the impact of BMI, obesity and overweight on direct medical costs. We apply panel data econometrics and use a two-part model with a longitudinal dataset of medical and administrative records of patients in primary and secondary healthcare centres in Spain followed up over seven consecutive years (2004-2010). Other modelling approaches are also investigated as a robustness analysis. Our findings show a positive and statistically significant impact of BMI, obesity and overweight on annual medical costs after accounting for data restrictions, different subsamples of individuals and various econometric specifications.

Keywords: BMI and Obesity; Healthcare costs; Panel data; Two-part models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I14 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-06
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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