Abstract This study aimed to describe healthcare utilisation and costs associated with excess weight amongst Australian children (mean age 11 years). We analysed self‐reported data from the Child Health CheckPoint study. From a healthcare provider perspective, children with overweight and obesity incurred annual excess costs of AUD +140 and +379 (+117 and 328 adjusted) respectively compared to those in the healthy weight category. These findings suggest obesity is a significant driver of healthcare costs in children and support the economic argument for reducing childhood obesity.
Chen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.