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The medical care costs of obesity and severe obesity in youth: An instrumental variables approach

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  • Adam I. Biener
  • John Cawley
  • Chad Meyerhoefer

Abstract

This paper is the first to use the method of instrumental variables to estimate the impact of obesity and severe obesity in youth. on U.S. medical care costs. We examine data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for 2001–2015 and instrument for child BMI using the BMI of the child's biological mother. Instrumental variables estimates indicate that obesity in youth raises annual medical care costs by $907 (in 2015 dollars) or 92%, which is considerably higher than previous estimates of the association of youth obesity with medical costs. We find that obesity in youth significantly raises costs in all major categories of medical care: outpatient doctor visits, inpatient hospital stays, and prescription drugs. The costs of youth obesity are borne almost entirely by third‐party payers, which is consistent with substantial externalities of youth obesity, which in turn represents an economic rationale for government intervention.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam I. Biener & John Cawley & Chad Meyerhoefer, 2020. "The medical care costs of obesity and severe obesity in youth: An instrumental variables approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 624-639, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:29:y:2020:i:5:p:624-639
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4007
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    Cited by:

    1. Marta Marson & Donatella Saccone & Elena Vallino, 2023. "Total trade, cereals trade and undernourishment: new empirical evidence for developing countries," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 159(2), pages 299-332, May.
    2. Josefine Koebe, 2025. "Green Cities, Healthier Children: The Effect of Expanding Urban Green Space on Body Weight for Primary School Starters," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 573-597, March.
    3. Selina Gangl, 2024. "Does the design of a soda tax matter? Evidence from school children in Europe," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 66(4), pages 1867-1901, April.
    4. Bozzi, Debra G. & Nicholas, Lauren Hersch, 2021. "A Causal Estimate of Long-Term Health Care Spending Attributable to Body Mass Index Among Adults," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    5. Sabrina Krebs & Emily Moak & Shakiba Muhammadi & David Forbes & Ming-Chin Yeh & May May Leung, 2022. "Testing the Feasibility and Potential Impact of a Mindfulness-Based Pilot Program in Urban School Youth," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-12, March.
    6. Mecheva, Margarita de Vries & Rieger, Matthias & Sparrow, Robert & Prafiantini, Erfi & Agustina, Rina, 2021. "Snacks, nudges and asymmetric peer influence: Evidence from food choice experiments with children in Indonesia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Adam I. Biener & Chad Meyerhoefer & John Cawley, 2024. "Non‐classical measurement error in instrumental variables estimation: An application to the medical care costs of obesity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(11), pages 2558-2574, November.
    8. Si Wang & Qingqing Yang, 2022. "Does weight impact adolescent mental health? Evidence from China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(10), pages 2269-2286, October.

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