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Burden of disease attributable to obesity and overweight in Korea

International Journal of Obesity volume 30, pages 1661–1669 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To estimate the burden of disease attributable to overweight and obesity using disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) in Korea.

Research methods:

Firstly, overweight and obesity-related diseases and their relative risk (RR) were selected by the systematic review. Secondly, population-attributable fractions (PAFs) were computed by using the formula including RR and the prevalence of exposure (Pe) of overweight and obesity. Thirdly, DALYs of overweight and obesity-related diseases in Korea were estimated. Finally, the attributable burden (AB) of diseases due to overweight and obesity was calculated as the sum of the products from multiplying DALYs of overweight and obesity-related diseases by their PAFs.

Results:

The disease burden attributable to overweight was 827.1 person years (PYs) overall, 732.6 for men, 922.9 for women per 100 000 persons. The disease burden attributable to obesity was 260.0 PYs overall, 144.2 for men, 377.3 for women. Diabetes attributable to overweight and obesity accounts for highest burden among other diseases in both genders. The disease burden attributable to overweight was 3.2 times higher than that attributable to obesity.

Conclusion:

Most proportion of disease burden attributable to high body mass index (BMI) occurred among those with only moderately raised levels such as overweight, not the extremes such as obesity. It suggests that population-based, public health intervention rather than high-risk group-focused strategies are more effective to reduce the burden of disease attributable to overweight and obesity in Korea.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (01-PJ1-PG1-OICH10-0007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Chongro-ku, Seoul, Korea

    J-H Park, Y Kim, Y-I Kim & Y Shin

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Anam-dong Sungbuk-ku, Seoul, Korea

    S-J Yoon

  3. Division of Cancer Control and Epidemiology, National Cancer Center, Goyang city, Gyeonggi-province, Korea

    H Lee

  4. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Hyoja-dong, Chuncheon City, Korea

    H-S Jo

  5. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Pungnap-dong Songpa-ku, Seoul, Korea

    S-I Lee

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Correspondence to S-J Yoon.

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Park, JH., Yoon, SJ., Lee, H. et al. Burden of disease attributable to obesity and overweight in Korea. Int J Obes 30, 1661–1669 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803321

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