People with a body mass index (BMI) of 40-44.9 is associated with 6.5 years of lost life compared to people of normal weight with a BMI of 18.5-24.9 according to an analysis of 20 studies from the United States, Sweden, and Australia.

A BMI Table for adults can be found here.

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People with a body mass index (BMI) of 45-49.9 is associated with 8.9 years of lost life compared to people of normal weight with a BMI of 18.5-24.9 according to an analysis of 20 studies from the United States, Sweden, and Australia.

A BMI Table for adults can be found here.

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People with a body mass index (BMI) of 50-54.9 is associated with 9.8 years of lost life compared to people of normal weight with a BMI of 18.5-24.9 according to an analysis of 20 studies from the United States, Sweden, and Australia.

A BMI Table for adults can be found here.

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People with a body mass index (BMI) of 55-59.9 is associated with 13.7 years of lost life compared to people of normal weight with a BMI of 18.5-24.9 according to an analysis of 20 studies from the United States, Sweden, and Australia.

A BMI Table for adults can be found here.

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Class III obesity, that is having a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more, affects 6% of US adults according to an analysis of 20 studies from the United States, Sweden, and Australia.

A BMI Table for adults can be found here.

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Obesity accounted for 18 percent of deaths among Black and White Americans between the ages of 40 and 85 according to Ryan Masters, PhD, and others who conducted research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

This finding challenges the prevailing wisdom among scientists, which is that only about 5% of deaths are due to obesity.

This finding shows that obesity is responsible for about 3.6 times more deaths than previously thought.

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Obesity and overweight accounts for 27% of deaths among Black women in the U.S. according to Ryan Masters, PhD who conducted research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

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Obesity and overweight accounts for 21% of deaths among White women in the U.S. according to Ryan Masters, PhD who conducted research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

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Obesity and overweight accounts for 15% of deaths among White men in the U.S. according to Ryan Masters, PhD who conducted research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

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Obesity and overweight accounts for 5% of deaths among Black men in the U.S. according to Ryan Masters, PhD who conducted research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

While White men and Black men have similar rates of obesity, the effect of obesity on mortality is lower in Black men because it is “crowded out” by other risk factors, from high rates of cigarette smoking to challenging socioeconomic conditions according to the researchers.

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Women who smoked and were underweight with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5, were 9.4 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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Women who smoked and were normal weight with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 23.5-25 were 5.4 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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Women who smoked and were overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 were 5.1 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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Women who smoked and were obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 35 were 5.9 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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Women who smoked and were severely obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, were 6.6 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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Men who normal weight with a body mass index (BMI) of 23.5 to 25 and who quit smoking at least 10 years earlier were 2.2 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Similar men who had quit smoking less than 10 years earlier were 4.1 times more likely to die during follow-up.

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Women who normal weight with a body mass index (BMI) of 23.5 to 25 and who quit smoking at least 10 years earlier were 1.9 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

Similar women who had quit smoking less than 10 years earlier were 2.9 times more likely to die during follow-up.

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Men who were normal weight, that is had a body mass index (BMI) of 23.5 to 25, but who were current smokers, were 6.2 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

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Men who were underweight with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 and who were current smokers, were 8.4 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
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Men who were current smokers and severely obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more, were 8.1 times more likely to die during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked according to a new study from the US’s National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
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Men who had never smoked, but were overweight, that is had a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30, were 11 percent more likely to die -- 1.11 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, men who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 10 percent less likely to die than men who were overweight.

Comment: This is more evidence that the 2005 CDC Study by Flegal was WRONG

To me, this study provides additional evidence that there was a problem with the study done a couple years ago done by the US Centers for Disease Control which estimated that the obesity is associated with much fewer deaths in the US than previously estimated (111,000 versus 400,000).

It seemed obvious to me that the Flegal study was wrong when one of the tables in the paper showed that by their calculations that overweight people were less likely to die than normal weight people. To me, this was a big, huge red flag saying "Something is wrong with this study by Flegal (2005)!". Read the entire article | Email this article

Men who had never smoked, but were obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 to 35 were 41 percent more likely to die -- 1.41 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, men who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 29 percent less likely to die than men who were obese with a BMI of 30-35. Read the entire article | Email this article

Men who had never smoked, but were obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more were 144 percent more likely to die -- 2.44 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, men who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 59 percent less likely to die than men who were obese with a BMI of 30-35. Read the entire article | Email this article

Women who who had never smoked, but were overweight, that is had a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30, were 14 percent more likely to die -- 1.14 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, women who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 10 percent less likely to die than women who were overweight.

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Women who had never smoked, but were obese with a BMI of 30- to 35, were 33 percent more likely to die -- 1.33 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, women who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 25 percent less likely to die than women who were overweight.

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Women who had never smoked, but were obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or more were 118 percent more likely to die -- 2.2 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, women who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 54 percent less likely to die than women who were obese with a BMI of 30-35. Read the entire article | Email this article

Lean men who had never smoked, but were obese with a BMI of 18.5 to 23.5, were 8 percent more likely to die -- 1.08 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, although there was more than a 5 percent chance that the difference was due to random chance, according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, men who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 15 percent less likely to die than lean men with a BMI of 18.5-23.5.

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Lean women who had never smoked, but were obese with a BMI of 18.5 to 23.5, were 17 percent more likely to die -- 1.17 times more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25 according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, women who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 15 percent less likely to die than lean women with a BMI of 18.5-23.5.

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Underweight men who had never smoked with a BMI of less than 18.5 were 2.1 times more likely to die -- 111 percent more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight men who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, although there was more than a 5 percent chance that the difference was due to random chance, according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, women who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 53 percent less likely to die than lean women with a BMI of 18.5-23.5.

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Underweight women who had never smoked with a BMI of less than 18.5 were 1.5 times more likely to die -- 151 percent more likely -- during a 10-year follow-up than normal weight women who had never smoked with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, although there was more than a 5 percent chance that the difference was due to random chance, according to a new study from the US's National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

To put this another way, women who were normal weight with a BMI of 23.5 to 25, were 34 percent less likely to die than lean women with a BMI of 18.5-23.5. Read the entire article | Email this article

In England, there are an estimated 30,000 excess deaths every year due to obesity, which is 6 percent of all deaths as noted in the report Storing Up Problems: The Medical Case for a Slimmer Nation by the Royal College of Physicians. Read the entire article | Email this article

Obesity causes an estimated 30,000 deaths in the England and 320,000 deaths in Europe according to the Foresight report on Tackling Obesity put out by Foresight, a division within the UK's Government Office for Science. Read the entire article | Email this article

Excess body weight causes an estimated 464,000 excess deaths per year in the U.S. according to a new paper by James Greenberg from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. This is four times more than the 111,909 estimated last by the CDC (Flegal et al, 2005), which failed to adjust for two statistical biases. Read the entire article | Email this article

Numerous studies have found that being overweight increases the risk of death. A new study from the U.S. National Cancer Institute found that in younger women, the risk of death increases when body mass index (BMI) exceeds 21, and in older women, when BMI exceeds 25. In younger men, the risk increases when BMI exceeds 23, whereas in older men, the risk does not increase until BMI exceeds 30. Read the entire article | Email this article

A new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that obesity is associated with 111,909 early deaths in the U.S. each year as opposed to a previous estimate of 400,000 deaths per year. Read the entire article | Email this article

Obesity increases the risk of death from coronary heart disease by 51 percent in men and 62 percent in women according to a new paper from Daniel L. McGee, statistician at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida who analyzed data from twenty-six studies. Read the entire article | Email this article

Obesity increases the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 45 percent in men and 53 percent in women according to a new paper. Read the entire article | Email this article

"Both increased [body fat] and reduced physical activity are strong and independent predictors of death [in women]," according to a new study from researchers at Harvard. Read the entire article | Email this article

Excess body weight is estimated to account for one-seventh of cancer deaths in men in the U.S. and one-fifth for women according to the American Cancer Society. Read the entire article | Email this article

It has recently been said that obesity kills an estimated 400,000 people in the U.S. each year, however, the real number is probably lower than this according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Read the entire article | Email this article