June 2006

Reason to lose weight: Healthcare cost savings

Are you having trouble convincing your type 2 diabetic patients to lose weight? Let them know that those extra pounds are costing them money.

A new study demonstrates that even a small percentage of weight loss could lower healthcare costs among people with type 2 diabetes. Data from the study, titled “Short Term Economic Impact of Weight Change Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes,” were presented at the 66th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Washington, DC.

The study, which included data gathered from an HMO claims database between 1997 – 2005, showed that study participants with diabetes who experienced 1 percent weight loss decreased their average healthcare costs by 3.6 percent over the 12 months following the weight loss, or approximately $256.

Results were even more significant among patients considered obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30). For this group, a 1 percent weight loss was associated with a 5.6 percent decrease in healthcare costs, or approximately $408.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 30 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 years and older — over 60 million people — are obese and an estimated 21 million people in the United States have diabetes. Approximately 90 to 95 percent of those affected have type 2 diabetes.

The study was funded by an unrestricted research grant from Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company to Analysis Group, Inc.

Source: PRNewswire (www.prnewswire.com), Eli Lilly and Company; Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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