Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany

Public health determines economic stability and growth. Inappropriate dietary behaviour induces a huge health burden across all age groups and geographical regions every year. Nutrition is one major driver to overcome non-communicable diseases and related costs. According to the World Health Organiz...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Maike Schmitt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Academic Research and Publishing UG (i. G.) 2023-03-01
Series:Health Economics and Management Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://armgpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hem_1_3_Schmitt-2.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849732057266126848
author Maike Schmitt
author_facet Maike Schmitt
author_sort Maike Schmitt
collection DOAJ
description Public health determines economic stability and growth. Inappropriate dietary behaviour induces a huge health burden across all age groups and geographical regions every year. Nutrition is one major driver to overcome non-communicable diseases and related costs. According to the World Health Organization, there is a gap in research considering the cost-effectiveness of policy nutrition interventions. The present modelling study is the first attempt to evaluate a potential nationwide shift towards healthy nutrition from a societal perspective. The scenario modelling builds on most recent findings from the research field and status quo food consumption according to national nutrition survey data. Potential age- and gender-specific gains in life expectancy due to diet improvement are evaluated for the 2019 population in Germany addressing different scenarios (optimal diet and feasible diet). Drawing on a human capital approach, the resulting health gains are translated into a societal value building on related gains in unpaid work productivity. The monetary evaluation of productivity increase is implemented according to the specialist’s approach. The potential gain in unpaid work activities related to improved nutrition, is estimated at € 5,046bn for the 2019 German population assuming an optimal diet scenario. In case of the more feasible diet scenario, additional life expectancy is lower but still valuable. Health gains are less for women as compared to men, but the societal value is higher for females due to higher societal contribution in terms of unpaid activities across all age groups. The potential health gains are highest for young age groups, but the monetary societal value for these individuals is lower due to discounting of future benefits. The study illustrates the societal value of nutrition as one dimension of preventing non-communicable diseases. Thereby, it provides valuable insights for policy decision makers to develop interventions on the population level that support transformation of the health care systems and economic structures towards a sustainable direction.
format Article
id doaj-art-15e4e50eb40a4e66ab4afa3bc2b2b9db
institution DOAJ
issn 2786-4626
2786-4634
language English
publishDate 2023-03-01
publisher Academic Research and Publishing UG (i. G.)
record_format Article
series Health Economics and Management Review
spelling doaj-art-15e4e50eb40a4e66ab4afa3bc2b2b9db2025-08-20T03:08:21ZengAcademic Research and Publishing UG (i. G.)Health Economics and Management Review2786-46262786-46342023-03-0141263810.61093/hem.2023.1-03Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in GermanyMaike Schmitt0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0298-8564WifOR Institute, Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau, GermanyPublic health determines economic stability and growth. Inappropriate dietary behaviour induces a huge health burden across all age groups and geographical regions every year. Nutrition is one major driver to overcome non-communicable diseases and related costs. According to the World Health Organization, there is a gap in research considering the cost-effectiveness of policy nutrition interventions. The present modelling study is the first attempt to evaluate a potential nationwide shift towards healthy nutrition from a societal perspective. The scenario modelling builds on most recent findings from the research field and status quo food consumption according to national nutrition survey data. Potential age- and gender-specific gains in life expectancy due to diet improvement are evaluated for the 2019 population in Germany addressing different scenarios (optimal diet and feasible diet). Drawing on a human capital approach, the resulting health gains are translated into a societal value building on related gains in unpaid work productivity. The monetary evaluation of productivity increase is implemented according to the specialist’s approach. The potential gain in unpaid work activities related to improved nutrition, is estimated at € 5,046bn for the 2019 German population assuming an optimal diet scenario. In case of the more feasible diet scenario, additional life expectancy is lower but still valuable. Health gains are less for women as compared to men, but the societal value is higher for females due to higher societal contribution in terms of unpaid activities across all age groups. The potential health gains are highest for young age groups, but the monetary societal value for these individuals is lower due to discounting of future benefits. The study illustrates the societal value of nutrition as one dimension of preventing non-communicable diseases. Thereby, it provides valuable insights for policy decision makers to develop interventions on the population level that support transformation of the health care systems and economic structures towards a sustainable direction.https://armgpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hem_1_3_Schmitt-2.pdfdiet-behaviournutritionpopulation healthpreventionlife expectancysocietal impactunpaid work productivityindirect costssustainable healthcare system
spellingShingle Maike Schmitt
Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany
Health Economics and Management Review
diet-behaviour
nutrition
population health
prevention
life expectancy
societal impact
unpaid work productivity
indirect costs
sustainable healthcare system
title Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany
title_full Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany
title_fullStr Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany
title_full_unstemmed Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany
title_short Dietary Choices as Prevention Measure: Assessment of Societal Effects Related to Life Expectancy in Germany
title_sort dietary choices as prevention measure assessment of societal effects related to life expectancy in germany
topic diet-behaviour
nutrition
population health
prevention
life expectancy
societal impact
unpaid work productivity
indirect costs
sustainable healthcare system
url https://armgpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hem_1_3_Schmitt-2.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT maikeschmitt dietarychoicesaspreventionmeasureassessmentofsocietaleffectsrelatedtolifeexpectancyingermany