Somebody has told us a big, fat lie!
According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers in the past have greatly miscalculated the number of US deaths resulting from the complications of obesity.
Earlier reports have claimed that only 5 percent of US deaths are connected to obesity.
However, the latest report from Columbia University estimates that 18 percent of deaths, among both white and black Americans between the ages of 40 and 85, are directly linked to obesity. This means that obesity is definitely a major leading cause of death in America.
Obesity Research Results
The Columbia researchers discovered that previous obesity studies overlooked the great impact that generational differences have had on overall obesity in America.
Younger Americans because of their longer exposure to obesity’s risk factors are at a greater risk for the complications of obesity than previously thought.
A youngster today, compared to earlier generations, is growing up in a world where obesity is the rule rather than the exception. Drink sizes and meal portions are greater, clothing is oversized and many more of their friends and classmates are overweight or even obese.
And the odds are that most overweight children will never achieve a normal, healthy weight.
To eliminate deaths by homicides, accidents and congenital causes (the leading causes of death for younger people), the researchers focused their investigation on those people between the ages 40 and 85. They then broke this group down into different generations.
Ryan Masters, lead researcher, discovered that each new generation was at a much higher risk of dying from obesity-related causes when compared to older generations.
So, the deaths from obesity are a wave that is growing bigger with each new generation.
For those people born between 1915 and 1919, only 3.5 percent died from causes related to obesity. For those born ten years later, the rate was up to 5 percent. And obesity killed off about 7 percent of those born ten years after that. That number is now up to 18 percent.
The Obesity Bottom Line
Heart disease, diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancers are among the primary causes of preventable deaths in the US and they have all been linked to obesity.
It is never too early or too late to get control of your weight and the weight of your family. Start to manage your diet and physical activity level ASAP. Every pound and every day counts.
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Note: The information contained on this website is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.
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