1. Individual prevention programmes could avoid up to 47 000 deaths from chronic diseases every year. Deaths avoided could increase to 55 000 if different interventions were combined in a comprehensive prevention strategy. An organised programme of counselling of obese people by their family doctors would also lead to an annual gain of over 150 000 years of life in good health.

Health Outcomes at the Population Level (Average Effect per Year)

Underlying data and charts for all the graphics below are also available in Excel

2. How much does prevention cost? How much does it save? Most prevention programmes would cost less than MXN 3.5 bn every year, with individual counselling by family doctors costing up to MXN 19 bn. Most prevention programmes will cut health expenditures for chronic diseases, but only by a relatively small margin (up to MXN 3.9 bn per year).

Economic Assessment of the Interventions at the Population Level (Average Effect per Year)

3. Is prevention cost-effective? Prevention can improve health at a lower cost than many treatments offered today by OECD health systems. In Mexico, all of the prevention programmes examined will be cost-effective in the long run – relative to internationally accepted standards corresponding to around MXN 640 000 per year of life gained in good health. However, some programmes will take a longer time to produce their health effects and therefore will be less cost-effective in the short run.

Cost per life year gained in good health of interventions to tackle obesity