By Chung Ah-young
The social and economic costs of drinking, smoking and obesity in Korea are estimated at 23.3 trillion won annually, a report said Monday.
The Health Insurance Policy Research Institute released the study on the socioeconomic effects of major health risk factors.
The social and economic costs include direct costs such as medical and nursing expenses and indirect costs such as future income loss arising from premature death or loss of productivity. It is calculated based on various data, indexes and statistics about cause of death, employment and economic forecast.
The report shows that the annual costs resulting from drinking reached 9.4 trillion won in 2013, the biggest burden. The costs from smoking and obesity were 7.1 trillion won and 6.7 trillion won, respectively.
Among the costs, medical expenses represented the largest portion or 39.1 percent, followed by income loss from premature death at 35.9 percent and loss of productivity at 13.9 percent.
"The medical burden is the biggest part of the total cost caused by health risks. Staying in good health will reduce the burden on the national health insurance system," the report stated.
"Among the three risk factors, drinking is the biggest culprit, and the cost associated with obesity is rapidly increasing. The state policy for health improvement should focus on reducing obesity and drinking problems in addition to the current anti-smoking campaign," it said.
The socioeconomic cost has been on the rise from 13.5 trillion won in 2005 to 17.5 trillion won in 2007, 20.2 trillion won in 2009 and 21.6 trillion won in 2011. Over the last eight years, the cost from obesity has grown rapidly, a 2.22-fold increase.
The social and economic costs of drinking, smoking and obesity in Korea are estimated at 23.3 trillion won annually, a report said Monday.
The Health Insurance Policy Research Institute released the study on the socioeconomic effects of major health risk factors.
The social and economic costs include direct costs such as medical and nursing expenses and indirect costs such as future income loss arising from premature death or loss of productivity. It is calculated based on various data, indexes and statistics about cause of death, employment and economic forecast.
The report shows that the annual costs resulting from drinking reached 9.4 trillion won in 2013, the biggest burden. The costs from smoking and obesity were 7.1 trillion won and 6.7 trillion won, respectively.
Among the costs, medical expenses represented the largest portion or 39.1 percent, followed by income loss from premature death at 35.9 percent and loss of productivity at 13.9 percent.
"The medical burden is the biggest part of the total cost caused by health risks. Staying in good health will reduce the burden on the national health insurance system," the report stated.
"Among the three risk factors, drinking is the biggest culprit, and the cost associated with obesity is rapidly increasing. The state policy for health improvement should focus on reducing obesity and drinking problems in addition to the current anti-smoking campaign," it said.
The socioeconomic cost has been on the rise from 13.5 trillion won in 2005 to 17.5 trillion won in 2007, 20.2 trillion won in 2009 and 21.6 trillion won in 2011. Over the last eight years, the cost from obesity has grown rapidly, a 2.22-fold increase.
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