Who does not smoke and does not drink, it is more expensive for the state to treat
The results of a study by Dutch scientists have shown that healthy people cost the state more than obese and smokers.
Peter van Baal and his colleagues from the National Institute of Health and Environmental Protection of the Netherlands decided to prove that if humanity did not smoke and did not suffer from obesity, there would be fewer associated lung diseases, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, endocrine disorders, etc. As a result, healthcare costs would be reduced. To confirm their hypothesis, they created a mathematical model that takes into account lifestyle, the cost of treating diseases and the prevalence of diseases in the Netherlands in 2003. The calculations used the results of a survey of thousands of people belonging to three groups: people leading a healthy lifestyle, obese and smokers.
Counted – shed tearsThe result of data processing turned out to be completely opposite to the seemingly obvious truths (details can be found in the article Pieter H. M. van Baal Lifetime Medical Costs of Obesity: Prevention No Cure for Increasing Health Expenditure, published in the journal PLOS Medicine).
It turned out that smokers are the cheapest for the state, followed by non–smoking fat men, and the most money is spent on the treatment of non-smoking healthy people - respectively 326, 371 and 417 thousand dollars. during life. The explanation is simple: smokers and obese people die earlier, and in general their treatment is cheaper. And healthy citizens of the Netherlands more often live to expensive strokes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, various not too fatal tumors, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and the rest of the bouquet of senile diseases. And, despite this, they creak on average up to 84 years old.
It should also be taken into account that smokers and obese people usually live to the end of working age. They make almost the same contribution to the welfare of society as healthy people and save him a dozen or two years in retirement. But this, as well as the impact of a healthy lifestyle on labor productivity at working age, as well as budget revenues from excise duties on tobacco products, were not taken into account in the model.
It is still unclear what conclusions the authorities will draw from this. And ordinary citizens received another argument in favor of a healthy lifestyle: with this you can promote the state for a fair amount. Especially if you live in a rich country.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru07.02.2008