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Developing Modest Physical Activity Programs for Seniors Could Save Millions for Medicare
Embargoed Until August 29, 2005
Silver Spring, MD August 25 - Medicare could save millions of dollars in overweight- and obesity-related medical expenditures if older beneficiaries increased their physical activity, according to research published in the most recent issue of Obesity Research.
In a cross-sectional study of 42,520 Medicare retirees aged 65 years and older, researchers at the University of Michigan determined that physical activity could significantly reduce medical expenditures and utilization of services compared to the beneficiaries’ sedentary counterparts.
Utilizing generalized linear models, the study, entitled “BMI, Physical Activity, and Health Care Utilization/Costs among Medicare Retirees,” revealed that moderately active participants had $1456, $1731 and $1177 less total health care charges than their sedentary counterparts in the normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups, respectively. The very active retirees had $1823, $581 and $1379 less costs than the moderately active retirees.
“Addressing the obesity epidemic could result in savings of millions of dollars in health care costs given the fact that Medicare pays close to $20 billion in obesity- and overweight-related medical expenditures annually.(1) This latest research showed that the introduction of even modest physical activity programs could result in reduced Medicare costs. When applied to the population as a whole, I believe these programs could reap substantial savings for Medicare,” NAASO President Louis J. Aronne, MD, said.
Authors Feifei Wang, et al, examined the participants’ physical activity, BMI level and short-term health care use [number of outpatient claims, emergency room (ER) visits, and hospitalization days], and health care costs (outpatient costs, inpatient costs, and drug costs).
The eligible population consisted of all retired employees and spouses from General Motors Corporation who were 65 years or older as of January 2001 and selected an indemnity or preferred provider (PPO) medical insurance plan for the years 2001 to 2002.
The participants, each of whom had completed a health risk appraisal questionnaire, were categorized into one of three weight groups: normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9 kg/m2), and obese (BMI 30kg/m2), while physical activity behavior was classified into three levels: sedentary (0 time/wk), moderately active (1 to 3 times/wk), and very active (4 times/wk).
The study also revealed that with increased levels of physical activity, most health care outcomes showed statistically significant improvement across weight groups.
“Our findings indicate that the over-65 individuals who are regularly physically active, even once a week, have fewer health problems and/or less severe health problems than totally sedentary individuals,” the article states. “Overweight/obese people benefit from being physically active as well as normal-weight people.”
1. Obesity Research, “State-Level Estimates of Annual Medical Expenditures Attributable to Obesity*” Volume 12, No. 1, January 2004.
[Media Note: Feifei Wang, PhD, can be contacted at feifeiw@umich.edu or at (734) 936-2799.]
About NAASO
NAASO, The Obesity Society, is the leading scientific organization in North America dedicated to the science of obesity research, treatment, and management. NAASO's members are the foremost obesity researchers, scientists and clinicians. The official NAASO journal, Obesity Research, a peer-reviewed, monthly publication, is the premier publication in the obesity field. Visit www.naaso.org and www.obesityresearch.org for more information.
| NAASO, The Obesity Society
phone: 301/563-6526 |
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