Obese and overweight people in Malta are costing taxpayers almost €18 million a year in medical treatment alone, according to a local study. This amount excludes expenses for operations and drugs, the study’s authors said. The study carried out in Malta was presented during the Malta Medical Conference on Thursday and based its findings on the results of the Health Interview Survey. This found that 36.3% of Maltese were overweight and 22.3% were obese.

The Sunday Times reports how the study was drawn up by Neville Calleja, head of the Health Information and Research Department together with Dorothy Gauci.

The study shows that overweight people cost the national health service €4.5 million annually, while those classified as obese raise the total expenditure by €13.2 million.

The Health Interview Survey provided the researchers with important data, including the number of doctor visits and hospital stays. Available rates for different healthcare services were used for the study – €200 every night for a hospital bed, €170 for every day case, €35 for hospital outpatient appointments and €23 for health centre visits. This brings to an estimate that obese and overweight people cost €17.7 million more.

Earlier this week a campaign was launched which includes a 30-second television advert, urging people to lose extra weight.

Source: The Sunday Times

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