New study develops novel framework to help quantify the benefits of obesity prevention

A new study identifies key metrics to help better quantify the value of primary obesity prevention

A study published today in the Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism Journal has identified five key metrics around obesity prevention to help policymakers and payers better justify funding and enable healthcare providers to measure the impact of prevention interventions.

The study, Metrics that matter: identifying endpoints for capturing the broad health impacts of obesity prevention, has been authored by LCP Health Analytics, Novo Nordisk’s Transformational Prevention Unit (TPU), Nesta’s Healthy Life Mission, the Universities of Birmingham and Washington and University College London. 

While the link between health and economic prosperity is well-established, quantifying the value of disease prevention remains challenging, and prevention is relatively underfunded in healthcare systems compared to the treatment of illness. The study identifies key components for a holistic metric to assess obesity and cardiometabolic health progression and thereby better capture the broad value of prevention. In particular, the proposed metric reflects the impact of preventing obesity on cardiometabolic risk factors that, when controlled, reduce the risk of developing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, whilst also encompassing broader quality of life, which is key to enabling individuals to live a productive and happy life.

Through a structured study approach of targeted literature review, existing metrics used in research and public health were assessed. These were categorised into four different endpoints and evaluated against different criteria, including data feasibility, geographical generalisability and economic modelling methodology. These were then reviewed by six clinical, health economic and policy experts.

From this, a framework of five key measures that best capture the benefits of obesity prevention from both a clinical outcomes and user-centred composite outcome was shortlisted. 

These are:

• waist-to-height ratio 
• blood cholesterol
• blood pressure
• blood glucose
• a short questionnaire to capture physical and mental wellbeing.

This study is the first output of the project, and a second report that outlines a framework to evaluate initiatives aimed at preventing obesity from a healthcare, government, and wider societal perspective will be released later this year.

Jutta Kloppenborg Heick Skau, PhD, Associate Director, Novo Nordisk, TPU, commented: “Health systems, for good reasons, prioritise treatment over prevention. Therefore, it’s exciting that we have identified a set of metrics that have the potential to showcase the broader value preventive strategies can have for society, beyond just individuals. Ultimately, it’s about promoting long term health, and that’s also our focus within the TPU, as we seek to develop scientific and scalable interventions to prevent people from developing obesity in the first place.”

Hugo Harper, Director of the Health Team at Nesta, said: “There is a long-standing problem of underinvestment in prevention. When we make the case for prevention, it is vital that we are able to quantify the benefits of reductions in obesity. Policy makers and politicians have limited resources, and they need to know which set of choices offers the greatest potential impact. Obesity is a complex problem, and capturing the full benefits of reducing it will always be a challenge. This work, linked to established clinical indicators of physical and mental health, gets us closer than ever before.”

Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, Head of LCP Health Analytics, added: “The impact of obesity on individuals’ health, economic and social outcomes is broad. This proposed metric reflects the more holistic benefits of obesity prevention and is composed of established, evidence-based measurements that are used in clinical practice and economic evaluations across the globe.

“We know that preventing obesity would have vast benefits to individuals, healthcare systems and economies, but quantifying these benefits for policymakers in finance ministries is often challenging. Our study and proposed metric add to the toolbox to help quantify and articulate the impact of obesity prevention.”