Economic cost of obesity and the cost‐effectiveness of weight management

Many commentators have noted the impact that obesity is having both on society and health services across the world. The impact is wide ranging, from personal day‐to‐day issues through to the economic impact on health services and the wider economy. There is now general acceptance that we live in an obesogenic environment, and that the factors behind this are multifactorial and complex. However, a key question concerns the impact of weight management intervention and the cost or cost‐effective impact therein. By understanding this in more detail, informed decisions can be made around appropriate funding and commissioning for supporting people who wish to seek weight management interventions. This chapter aims to outline some key areas of impact being observed with the increasing rate of obesity and the resource burden of severe and complicated obesity. The impact of realistic and achievable weight change is also considered, as well as the cost‐effectiveness of currently available interventions for the management of obesity