Source: JAMA 2003, 289:187-193.
The results of a U.S. study published in the Jan. 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicate that, on average, obesity can shorten by more than 10 years the life of a person to the people of color even can also be shortened to 20 years.
The findings support the idea that excess body weight is a health problem, and should encourage doctors and public health officials to redouble their efforts to stem the growing epidemic of obesity. "Excess weight has not received the same attention from doctors and public health officials of other factors that threaten health, such as tobacco use, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia," they write in a accompanying editorial JoAnn E. Manson and Shari S. Bassuk, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "It is not surprising that obesity rates continue to rise." The results show that "obesity has an important effect on life expectancy, "say the study's author, David B. Allison, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and his staff. According to the report, obesity is particularly dangerous for young people. White men severely obese, aged between 20 and 30 years, live about 13 years less than other individuals in the general population. The severely obese white women have a life expectancy of 8 years shorter than their non-obese. Obesity also has an important effect on the duration of life of young black men. The obese young black men, between 20 and 30 years, losing about 20 years and obese women of color lose about 5 years of life, even after have adjusted the data for smoking habits. According to the study based on data from national observation, white adults with a body mass index (BMI) 23 to 25 and adults of color with a BMI between 23 and 30 have lived longer. The results quantify the health risks associated with obesity, especially for young and middle-aged adults. The researchers warn that since about two-thirds of the U.S. adult population is overweight or obese, these findings predict a health crisis in evolution. The authors call for further studies, particularly about the apparent racial differences observed. Nevertheless, these results "confirm that obesity is one of the most serious health problems public seems to reduce life expectancy markedly, especially among people in younger age groups, "as Dr. Allison and colleagues conclude.
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