Article preview reprinted from Medtech Insight -September/October 2009
With soaring medical costs weighing heavily on the US economy, it's not surprising that obesity has become a target in the health care reform debate. Obesity is costly because it significantly increases the risk of many chronic diseases. Exercise, dieting and prescription drugs have had a limited effect in stemming the tide of obesity, leaving bariatric surgery and other interventional techniques as the primary treatment options for this potentially multi-billion dollar market. But device manufacturers have a challenge ahead of them--to develop more effective, safer, and less invasive obesity therapies that will not only result in long-term weight loss, but will also cut treatment costs and better manage comorbidities. Read more...
New Developments in Obesity Intervention
Article preview reprinted from Medtech Insight -September/October 2009
With soaring medical costs weighing heavily on the US economy, it is not surprising that obesity has become a target in the health care reform debate. There is an undeniable link between the rising rate of obesity and rising medical spending. The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled over the last 20 years, and today more than two-thirds of US adults age 20 or older are classified as overweight or obese. (See Exhibit 1.) According to a study published in the July 27, 2009, issue of Health Affairs, the growing prevalence of obesity was responsible for almost $40 billion in additional medical spending between 1998 and 2006. The study found that the proportion of all annual medical costs due to obesity increased from 6.5% in 1998 to almost 10% in 2006. Moreover, with the cost of obesity in the US estimated to be as high as $147 billion annually (in 2008 dollars), obesity has become the single biggest contributor to rising health care costs in the US.
If these trends continue, things could get much worse. According to a study published in the July 2008 online issue of the journal Obesity, by 2030 the vast majority—roughly 86%—of Americans age 18 and older could be overweight or obese, and obesity-related costs could climb to over $950 billion per year, or 16% to 18% of total US health care costs. (See Exhibit 2.) Moreover, with the rising rate of obesity in children, costs could continue to mushroom well into the future. Nearly one-third of all US children and adolescents are on track to become obese (body mass index [BMI] > 95th percentile) by 2034, and obesity prevalence in this population could increase to 50% by 2070. Although the US currently has the largest obese population in the world, the prevalence of obesity is increasing in other industrialized nations as well. Globally, there are more than one billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese, according to the World Health Organization.
Companies mentioned in this article:
Allergan Inc.
BaroSense Inc.
CR Bard Inc.
Davol Inc.
EndoGastric Solutions Inc.
GI Dynamics Inc.
Imperial College London
New York University
New York University School of Medicine
SafeStitch Medical Inc.
Satiety Inc.
USGI Medical
University of Genoa
University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts, Worcester
ValenTx Inc.
Virginia Commonwealth University
About Medtech Insight
Medtech Insight newsletter provides insights into the technology and market developments (devices, instrumentation, biomaterials, gene therapy, tissue engineering, etc.) impacting a wide range of surgical and non-surgical clinical practices (cardiothoracic &
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