Do obese patients stay longer in hospital? Estimating the health care costs of obesity

Abstract

Increasing obesity rates are a major public health concern in many countries, as the obese have significantly higher risks of developing serious illnesses such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and various cancers. While it might be assumed that higher levels of obesity in the community must therefore translate to longer and more expensive hospital stays, this study shows that obese patients stay longer in some specialties, but shorter in others. This means it cannot simply be assumed that it is more costly to treat obese patients on average