Study says that 1 in 5 adult deaths is linked to obesity

Obesity's effect on public health has been drastically underestimated, researchers warn: Nearly 20% of premature adult deaths in the United States are associated with being overweight or obese, a percentage that is almost four times higher than current estimates, according to a new study in the American
Journal of Public Health.

For the study, researchers analyzed 19 years of annual U.S. National Health Interview Surveys and linked the data with mortality records from the National Death Index. Overall, the analysis included more than 700,000 Americans ages 40 to 85.From the Daily Briefing archive: AMA declares obesity a disease. How will it change health care?

Overall, the study found that being overweight or obese was associated with 18.2% of deaths among U.S. adults between 1986 and 2006. The study found that obesity-related premature mortality had affected more women than men, and that black women were particularly vulnerable. According to the study, obesity accounted for:

• 27% of deaths among black women;
• 22% of deaths among white women;
• 5% of deaths among black men; and
• 16% of deaths among white men.

To better gauge the effect of obesity on deaths for specific age group, researchers broke the population down into "cohorts," or generations. They observed an increase in obesity-related deaths with each generation. Specifically, excess body mass accounted for about:

• 3.5% of deaths for individuals born between 1915 and 1919;
• 5% of deaths for those born 10 years later; and
• 7% of deaths for those born 10 years after that.

Findings more than three times earlier estimates

Lead author Ryan Masters—a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation scholar at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health—said the new data suggest that obesity's death toll is more than three times higher than previously believed. He told HealthDay, "Obesity has dramatically worse health consequences than some recent reports have led us to believe."Related: After two years of improvement, obesity rate climbs again

Earlier estimates erred by overlooking generational differences, Masters said. Younger generations have been more exposed to risk factors for obesity. As such, they are at an even greater risk of becoming overweight or obese and suffering the health problems that accompany the excess weight, the researchers said.

"A five-year-old growing up today is living in an environment where obesity is much more the norm than was the case for a five-year-old a generation or two ago. Drink sizes are bigger, clothes are bigger and greater numbers of a child's peers are obese," study co-author Bruce Link explained, adding that "once someone is obese, it is very difficult to undo. So, it stands to reason that we won't see the worst of the epidemic until the current generation of children grows old."

Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association says the study provides new insight on how to tackle the obesity epidemic. "The solutions are not only more exercise and eating better, but a whole range of environmental factors we're going to have to address," he said, adding that because the current generation is expected to be obese longer, it is imperative that we "change things now if we're going to make this a healthier generation," he noted (Hellmich, USA Today, 8/15; Laidman, Medscape Today, 8/15; Thompson, HealthDay, 8/15).

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