Overweight people are also more likely to develop conditions such as arthritis, asthma, gout and back problems. Direct health-care costs are defined as visits to doctors, hospital care and medications. The report was commissioned for the conference of government staff members,researchers and food industry representatives. An estimated 1,000 nova Scotians die prematurely each year because of obesity, he said. That is not the true price.
Population health makes economic sense.
Cancer Care Nova Scotia, which helped organize the conference, says one in five cancers can be linked to diet. The World Health Organization has said there is an obesity epidemic worldwide, Nova Scotia is no exception. About 38 per cent of Nova Scotia adults over 20 are obese. The number of obese adults doubled between 1985 and 1997. That places Nova Scotia second in the country, behind New Brunswick.