week 5 - obesity and chronic disease
TRANSCRIPT
Policy Issues: Obesity and Chronic
Diseases
HLTH 405 / Canadian Health PolicyWinter 2012
School of Kinesiology and Health Studies
Course Instructor: Alex Mayer, MPA
Topics for today’s lecture:
Doing Policy• What is ‘policy’?
• Looking at ‘policy tools’
• Your briefing note
Policy Issue #1: Obesity & Chronic Disease• Childhood obesity trends & associated outcomes
• Social & physical determinants of chronic disease
• What is the appropriate role for government?
• Policy actions to support healthy living
Doing Policy
The Policy Paradigm
3 Necessary Assumptionso The private sector is the fundamental source of
economic wealth
o But, government has a key role to play – maintaining the rule of law and ensuring the safety of its citizens
o Additionally, the government can deliver policies that more broadly promotes the social wellbeing of its citizens (e.g. good health, equality, economic wellbeing)
Doing Policy
A Balancing Acto Putting personal biases aside and objectively
balancing the many diverse interests of society
o Using the best available evidence to implement ideas that we have strong reason to believe can generate a net gain in social wellbeing
So, What is a ‘Policy’?
Policy:
• (General sense) A party line or perspective on an issue of importance, which guides a strategy.
• (Specific sense) A set of specific actions oriented towards mitigating an immediate social problem or a long-term objective.
Policy ToolsThe full menu of actions available to government are collectively known as ‘policy tools’.
Policy Tools:
• “An identifiable method through which collective action is structured to address a public problem.”
- Salamon, 2002. “The Tools of Government”
How do we choose?
5 Dimensions for Evaluating a Tool of
ActionWhen choosing a tool, keep these in mind:
• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Equality
• Manageability
• Legitimacy/Political Feasibility
5 Dimensions for Evaluating a Tool of
Action• Effectiveness
o Is there sound evidence that it would generate the desired outcome, given the situation’s circumstances?
Find supporting evidence & extrapolate appropriately o Primary sources of info:
• CIHI, Statistics Canada, WHO, HQO, peer-reviewed journals
o Expert reports
• Thinktanks, Professional Associations, public servants, etc.
• Efficiencyo Balance the benefits against the implementation
costs of the tool. What tool provides the most ‘bang for your buck’?
o Costs can be direct costs borne by government (e.g. program costs) but also indirect, as when they are borne by some other segment of society (e.g. businesses, consumers, demographic group) in the form of compliance costs, lost revenue or time costs.
5 Dimensions for Evaluating a Tool of
Action
Determining Efficiency• Tool A has been shown in a pilot project to
generate 1 added life-year (LY) per person (on average) for a total program cost of $50/person.
• Tool B has been shown to generate 3 added life-years (LY) per person (on average) for a total program cost of $1,000/person.
Where should the government invest its money?
Answer: Tool A
o It costs $50/LY added, whereas Tool B costs $333/LY added. Tool A is more cost-effective.
Therefore, investing a predetermined sum of money in Tool A would yield the greatest benefit (most LYs added) to the population’s health.
Determining Efficiency
Math Challenge!
What if, after doing some solid research, you determined that province-wide implementation of Tool A would impose a $4M compliance cost on businesses, whereas Tool B would not?
$4M / Ontario population (13.5M) = additional cost of $396/person.
Math Challenge!
CostA = $396+$50x per person BenefitA = (x)LY per person
CostB = $333x per person BenefitB = (x)LY per person
Intercept (CostA = B) is x = 1.4LY per person
Therefore, Tool A is now only more cost-effective than Tool B above a threshold of 1.4LY per person (i.e. if Ontario invests at least $466 per person, or $6.29B, in the program).
If the government intends to spend any less than this, Tool B is the most cost-effective! (How fun! And interesting!)
• Equityo If the tool is distributive, is it fair in its distribution
of benefits among citizens? Does it unintentionally discriminate against some group?
o When redistribution of wealth is the aim of the policy, as is often the case, does it properly channel benefits disproportionately to those who lack them?
5 Dimensions for Evaluating a Tool of
Action
• Manageabilityo Would the program be able to distribute benefits
according to simple criteria and be easy to operate?
o Would it require constant judgment calls, be prone to error, be prone to exceed its budget, or be excessively exposed to external factors and pressures?
o All other things being equal, choose the simplest, most direct and most elegant solution.
5 Dimensions for Evaluating a Tool of
Action
• Legitimacy/Political Feasibilityo A program that does not win public support cannot
make headway, so would the tool’s implementation be widely viewed as an ‘appropriate’ government action?
o What are the societal interests that would oppose the policy?
• Can they be brought into the fold without unduly compromising the tool’s effectiveness, efficiency, equity and manageability?
5 Dimensions for Evaluating a Tool of
Action
You’ve found the perfect tool. Now what?
Write a briefing note!
Any questions?
Policy Issue #1: Obesity and Chronic
Diseases
Policy Issue #1: Obesity and Chronic
Diseases• Obesity trends & associated outcomes
• Social & physical determinants of chronic disease
• Policy actions to prevent obesity and support healthy living
• What is the proper role of government?
DefinitionsAccording to the World Health Organization…
• Overweight is defined as a BMI (kg/m2) > 25
• Obesity is defined as a BMI > 30
Though far from perfect, the WHO states that body mass index (BMI) provides the most useful population-health measure of mortality risk attributable to excess body fat and associated metabolic illnesses.
Definitions“Metabolic Syndrome”:
Cluster of risk factors (central obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, low cardiovascular fitness) that, when presenting together, are clinically associated with significantly higher risks of coronary artery disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Let’s be clearWhether one speaks of ‘obesity’ or ‘metabolic syndrome’, these are indicators of risk to be interpreted only as a statement of proven correlations with health outcomes at the population level.
• In absence of qualifying variables, it is not by itself the most reliable measure of health risk at the individual level.
Population LevelAs a group, people with a BMI over 30 have a demonstrably higher risk of morbidity and
mortality.
However, telling Ronnie Coleman that his BMI of 41.4 makes him ‘morbidly obese’, and therefore ‘extremely high risk’, is just poor health literacy.
Individual Level
Some ContextGlobally…
• Obesity is attributable for o 2.8 million deaths per year
o 44% of the global diabetes burden
o 23% of the ischemic heart disease burden
o 7-41% of cancer burdens (endometrial, breast, colon)
• 5th leading risk of mortality in the world
• Represents one of the largest sources of preventable illness and mortality (environmental/lifestyle changes can mitigate a majority of the associated health risks).
Some Context
In Ontario…
• 13% of children and 25% of adults are now obese (BMI>30)
• Between 1994 and 2005 alone, rates of high blood pressure have skyrocketed by 77%, diabetes by 45% and obesity by 18%
• It is estimated that 45% of males and 40% of females will now develop cancer in their lifetimes
Childhood Obesity• Canada has 5th highest rate of childhood
obesity (13%) out of 34 countries in the developed world (OECD).
• Higher risk of obesity, premature death and disability in adulthood.
• Associated with breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early onset of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and psychological effects.
Obesity as a Risk Factor
• Excess body fat is associated with:o 4.5X higher risk of developing hypertension
o 3.7X higher risk of developing type II diabetes
o 3.3X higher risk of contracting gall bladder disease
o 2.2X higher risk of developing coronary artery disease
o 2.0X higher risk of developing osteoarthritis
o 1.5X higher risk of stroke, colon cancer, post-menopausal breast cancer
• The correlations are far from trivial
Cost of Obesity & Physical Inactivity
In Ontario…
• Obesity accounts for $4.5B in health care costs per year
• Physical inactivity accounts for another $3.4B per year
(Katzmarzyk, 2012)
Lumped together, that’s equal to ~17% of Ontario’s $46B health budget being consumed to treat preventable chronic illnesses, not to speak of the human cost (i.e. suffering).
Cost of Obesity
Source: Katzmarzyk, 2012.
Cost of Physical Inactivity
Source: Katzmarzyk, 2012.
Obesity and Chronic Disease
Strange Logic?
• We spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on cancer drug research and development.
• Yet we spend only a small fraction of this on healthy living programs, despite knowing that 30-40% of all cases of cancer could be prevented through healthy eating, weight control and regular physical activity.
Healthy Diets Make a Difference!
According to a study by Dr. Henri Joyeux (one of France’s most eminent oncology and nutrition experts), the average lifetime medical cost of a vegetarian is 19,818€, compared to 92,994€ for non-vegetarians.
• Mortality attributable to cancer is reduced by 40% among vegetarians.
• Mortality attributable to cardiovascular disease is reduced by 50% among vegetarians.
Perhaps Bill is on to something…
Determinants of Health
• However, reducing obesity to an outcome associated merely with dietary or lifestyle choices, as in the traditional health care paradigm, can lead to a culture of ‘victim-blaming’ and stigmatization.
• This reductionist view is not only presumptuous and unhelpful, it is grossly unfair (especially to children and low-income people).
Determinants of Health
Determinants of Health
• Tangible barriers for many low-income families:o Inadequate income
o Food deserts
o Low education – poor nutritional and health literacy
o High cost and perishability of fresh fruits and vegetables
o Neighborhoods are not safe for recreational activity
o Lack of mobility/transportation for regular grocery trips
o Relatively cheap calories offered by restaurant meals
The obvious:
Healthy eating, weight control and regular physical activity together prevent the majority of chronic illness.
The not-so-obvious:
How to ensure that everyone has access to the knowledge, material resources and opportunities to lead healthy lifestyles – and then actually takes advantage of them!
Some Policy Approaches to Obesity
Prevention• Fiscal Measures (i.e. junk food taxes)• Food advertising Regulation• Industry Self-regulation• Food Labeling• Mass Media Campaigns• Physician-Dietitian Counseling• Physician Counseling• School-based Interventions• Workplace Interventions
These are the most well-studied, but there are many more possibilities!
OECD Report (2010):
“The Economics of Obesity
Prevention”
What does the evidence show?
What does the evidence show?
What does the evidence show?
Good Places to StartMost cost-effective approaches…• Physician-Dietitian Counseling• Fiscal Measures• Worksite Interventions
Although school-based interventions take a long time to generate cost savings, we may also want to invest there.
If you were to design them, what would these policies look like?
Many Opportunities for Improvement
• McGuinty Government has implemented new policies focusing on the provision of healthy foods in schools.
• However, less than 50% of physicians in Ontario routinely collaborate with dietitians (2007).
• The Canadian Food Guide is confusing and not reflective of the best available evidence; Restaurant menus don’t display even basic calorie counts – how are people to make informed decisions?
• Health impact assessments in urban planning
• Incentivizing workplace wellness programs
Discussion: Government’s Role
• Libertarianism versus Collectivism
• Views can differ sharply – this has implications for legitimacy/political feasibility!o E.g. Japan’s approach to population weight
control reflects tolerance for collectivist/interventionist government actions.
• Where do you stand?
Recap• Obesity trends & associated outcomes
• Social & physical determinants of chronic disease
• Policy actions to prevent obesity and support healthy living
• What is the proper role of government?
Have a great week!