SECTION 1: PRODUCTION OF HEALTH

Obesity prevalence continues to increase worldwide, as do the numerous chronic diseases associated with obesity, including diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Overweight and obesity are responsible for 8.4% of the total burden of disease in Australia, representing the impact of people dying early and living with illness due to conditions caused by excess weight. Dietary risks further contribute to Australia's burden of disease, accounting for 5.4% of the burden of disease. Excess weight is second only to smoking as a modifiable risk factor for ill health in Australia. Being overweight and obesity contribute to a high proportion of the burden from type 2 diabetes, hypertensive heart disease and chronic kidney disease.

Over the last several years, numerous prospective and longitudinal studies have demonstrated the benefits of bariatric surgery on weight loss, mortality, and other chronic diseases. Even though the mechanisms underlying many of these beneficial effects remain poorly understood, surgical management of obesity continues to increase given its unmatched efficacy. In Australia, bariatric surgery is covered by Medicare, and thus patients can access the treatment at very low cost.

1.1. What effects will the available treatment "Bariatric Surgery" have on the population health and the demand for health care from the perspective of the Grossman Model of the Demand for Health?

[Note: You can use graphical and verbal means to describe the likely effects. Be precise about for whom the effects will occur most strongly; make sure to discuss the static and dynamic responses, and consider the effects of time available to the individual.]

1.2. Let's assume bariatric surgery is more effective in men than in women. For women the treatment reduces weight in only 1/10 cases. While for men it is effective in 6/10 cases. What predictions does the Grossman Model make with respect to this health outcome uncertainty?

1.3. People in lower socioeconomic groups experience the greatest burden of disease linked to excess weight and poor diet. How does the Grossman Model factor in socioeconomic gradients in health? [Note: Be precise in describing how socioeconomic status (i.e. education differences) enter the model