Obesity Deadlier Than Previously Thought
August 16, 2013A new report published by the American Journal of Public Health has revealed that obesity may be the cause of almost four times more deaths than previously thought and that previous research has likely underestimated the impact obesity has on mortality rates in the US.
In a study that spanned over a period of 20 years, a research team at Columbia University has concluded that 18% of premature deaths in the United States can be attributed to obesity. That's quite a jump from previous research which had reported that obesity contributed to 5% of early deaths.
Researchers collected data from 1986 to 2006 for adults between the ages of 40 and 85 and studied the excess weight rates by age groups, gender, and ethnicity. Authors of the study found that the highest rates of obesity and early mortality were amongst women. Almost 27% of early deaths could be attributed to black women and approximately 22% could be attributed to white women. Only 5% of black men died premature deaths due to obesity in comparison to 16% of white men. Lead study author Ryan Masters noted that though black men have high rates of obesity, they are more inclined to die prematurely of other causes.
Currently, researchers estimate that 35% of Americans are obese and as many as 2/3 are overweight.