Supply And Demand Economic Theory And Obesity-Related Disease

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Q1. Discuss supply and demand economic theory as it applies to costs for diagnosis and treatment of obesity-related diseases. Demand describes the quantity of any given good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at any given time. Quantity demanded is a negative function of price. Supply, on the other hand, denotes the quantities that suppliers are willing and able to supply at any given time (Joel, 2006). The quantity supplied is an increasing function of cost or price. It costs resources to provide health services, and scarcity of resources demands that rational decisions have to be made in allocating resources within the health sector. Obesity is a complex health issue given the variety of factors underlying …show more content…

States are having higher proportions of their adult population being obese have consequently spent high on Medicare and Medicaid. If the records are anything to go by, then it is clear that vast amounts of resources are spent in addressing this challenge. From the past trends and as most econometric models would project, the proportion of citizens becoming obese is expected to increase in the future unless something is done to address this challenge. Several health practitioners and professionals have come out to call people to action to help in preventing and controlling cases of overweight and obesity (Joel, 2006). It is worthwhile noting that these conditions not only cost the states huge sums of resources, but it also costs the productivity of the affected citizens who have to be off duty to seek medication. Medicare and Medicaid drain state resources that would have been directed to productive projects. Welfare economists would argue that the opportunity cost involves burdening other productive members of society who have to share the burden equitably. Q3. Actions or initiatives that as a health economist, I would recommend to contain or reduce costs for my particular state of