Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine how analytical modeling contributes to economic evaluations of obesity interventions, with a specific focus on how these methods support decisions that balance cost-effectiveness with health equity.
METHODS: A narrative literature review was conducted to synthesize theoretical and methodological contributions on economic evaluation in the context of obesity. Peer-reviewed articles were identified through targeted searches in PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus. Keywords included "economic evaluation", "cost-effectiveness", "obesity", "decision modeling", and "health equity". The inclusion period covered publications from 2003 to 2024. Studies were selected based on relevance to key topics, including cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), cost-utility analysis (CUA), distributional cost-effectiveness analysis (DCEA), multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), and the application of decision-analytic models such as Markov models and microsimulations. Data were organized thematically to highlight advances, challenges, and public health implications.
RESULTS: The review shows that economic evaluation is widely used to inform obesity-related policy and intervention strategies. A total of 132 records were identified through database searches after removing duplicates. Following title and abstract screening, 62 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. Of these, 38 studies were included in the final narrative synthesis based on their relevance to economic evaluation methods applied to obesity interventions. Decision-analytic models are fundamental tools for projecting long-term costs and outcomes, particularly in chronic conditions like obesity. The integration of DCEA and MCDA into these models enables decision-makers to consider both efficiency and fairness in resource allocation. Key challenges include valuing indirect costs, estimating QALY utilities, and managing long-term uncertainty.
CONCLUSIONS: Analytical models are essential in producing robust, evidence-based economic evaluations of obesity interventions. When combined with frameworks that incorporate equity, such as DCEA, these tools enable more informed, fair, and sustainable health policy decisions. This review underscores the need for transparent, context-sensitive modeling practices to support efficient and equitable responses to the obesity epidemic.