Killer Diseases Spur UN Action Call to Avert $47 Trillion Cost

Productivity losses and medical treatment for cancer, diabetes and other non-contagious diseases will cost $47 trillion by 2030, according to the first study that quantifies the likely expense of leading causes of death.

Increasing costs from the obesity- and lifestyle-linked illnesses in the next two decades represent 75 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, the study by the World Economic Forum and Harvard University found. The findings were released yesterday in New York on the eve of a two-day United Nations summit aimed at tackling a disease scourge already overwhelming health systems, especially in emerging markets.