Childhood Obesity and Health Care Utilization: Empirical Evidence from Austrian Administrative Data

Background: Increases in pediatric obesity have been associated with higher levels of health care utilization. There is currently a lack of knowledge on the therapeutic drivers of increased health care use.Objective: To examine the association between different measures of health care utilization and BMI among children.Methods: We linked cross-sectional administrative data from a regional health insurance fund in Austria with objectively measured BMI from routine school health examinations in 6-15-year-old children (n = 13,493). Differences in probabilities of annual health care utilization (drug prescriptions by therapeutic classification, physician visits by medical specialty, and hospitalizations) were compared between children with normal weight, overweight, or obesity using Probit regressions.Results: Children with obesity had a 1.6 and 8.6 percentage points (pp) higher probability of outpatient doctor visits and prescribed medication, respectively (all p < 0.05). Children with overweight were intermediate. There was a higher probability of consulting a general practitioner, pediatrician, or orthopedist, and higher levels of prescribing for children with obesity across most common drug groups. Children with obesity were similar to 40% more likely to receive medication for musculoskeletal and for mental health problems. This was reflected in orthopedic clinic appointments but not in psychology clinics. There were no major differences by gender or age, or parental socioeconomic status.Conclusions: Our data show clear and objective evidence of higher health care utilization by children with obesity. This highlights the importance of policy interventions to curb obesity in children and young people.