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The article discusses research on the link between obesity and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) as well as medical costs. Topics include comorbidities associated with increasing body mass index (BMI) among U.S. adults, the use of drugs in relation to increasing BMI, and the connection between obesity and cardiometabolic conditions. The economic impacts of obesity are noted.

Objective:To evaluate the positive predictive value of claims-based V85 codes for identifying individuals with varying degrees of BMI relative to their measured BMI obtained from medical record abstraction. Methods:This was a retrospective validation study utilizing administrative claims and medical chart data from 1 January 2009 to 31 August 2015. Randomly selected samples of patients enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) or commercial health plan and with a V85 claim were identified. The claims-based BMI category (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese class I–III) was determined via corresponding V85 codes and compared to the BMI category derived from chart abstracted height, weight and/or BMI. The positive predictive values (PPVs) of the claims-based BMI categories were calculated with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results:The overall PPVs (95% CIs) in the MAPD and commercial samples were 90.3% (86.3%–94.4%) and 91.1% (87.3%–94.9%), respectively. In each BMI category, the PPVs (95% CIs) for the MAPD and commercial samples, respectively, were: underweight, 71.0% (55.0%–87.0%) and 75.9% (60.3%–91.4%); normal, 93.8% (85.4%–100%) and 87.8% (77.8%–97.8%); overweight, 97.4% (92.5%–100%) and 93.5% (84.9%–100%); obese class I, 96.9 (90.9%–100%) and 97.2% (91.9%–100%); obese class II, 97.0% (91.1%–100%) and 93.0% (85.4%–100%); and obese class III, 85.0% (73.3%–96.1%) and 97.1% (91.4%–100%). Conclusions:BMI categories derived from administrative claims, when available, can be used successfully particularly in the context of obesity research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]