The avoidable disease burden associated with overweight and obesity in Kenya: A modelling study

BACKGROUND: Globally, there is a rising burden of non-communicable diseases related to high body mass index (BMI). Estimation of the magnitude of the avoidable disease burden related to high BMI in Kenya could inform priority setting in health. METHODS: Using a proportional multistate life table model, we estimated the impact of the elimination of exposure to high BMI (>22·5 kg/m(2)) on health adjusted life years, health adjusted life expectancy, and burden of 27 obesity-related diseases. Participants were the 2019 Kenyan population modelled over their remaining lifetime. FINDINGS: Elimination of high BMI could save approximately 83·5 million health-adjusted life years and increase the health-adjusted life expectancy by 2·3 (95% UI 2·0-2·8) years for females and 1·0 (95% UI 0·8-1·1) years for males. Over the first 25 years, over 7·4 million new cases of BMI-related diseases could be avoided and approximately half a million BMI related deaths postponed. The cumulative number of new cases of type 2 diabetes could reduce by approximately 1·6 million, cardiovascular diseases by over 1·3 million, chronic kidney disease by 850,473 and cancer would reduce by 55,624 estimated cases. In 2044, an estimated 867,664 prevalent cases of musculoskeletal disease would be prevented. INTERPRETATION: The magnitude of avoidable high BMI-related disease burden in Kenya underscores the need to prioritise the control and prevention of overweight and obesity globally, especially in low- and middle-income settings, where obesity rates are rising rapidly. Reducing population BMI is challenging, but sustained and well-enforced system-wide approaches could be a great starting point. FUNDING: Mary Njeri Wanjau is supported by the Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (GUIPRS) and Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (GUPRS).