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Random Quote "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death." Revelation 6:8
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Years of life lost due to obesity.
Fontaine KR, Redden DT, Wang C, Westfall AO, Allison DB. Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md, USA. CONTEXT: Public health officials and organizations have disseminated health messages regarding the dangers of obesity, but these have not produced the desired effect. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the expected number of years of life lost (YLL) due to overweight and obesity across the life span of an adult. DESIGN, SETTING, AND SUBJECTS:
Data from the (1) US Life Tables (1999); (2) Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES III; 1988-1994); and (3) First National Health and Nutrition Epidemiologic Follow-up Study
(NHANES I and II; 1971-1992) and NHANES II Mortality Study (1976-1992) were used to derive YLL
estimates for adults aged 18 to 85 years. Body mass index (BMI) integer-defined categories were
used (ie, <17; 17 to <18; 18 to <19; 20 to <21; 21 to 45; or > or =45). A BMI of 24 was used as the
reference category. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The difference between the number of years of life expected
if an individual were obese vs not obese, which was designated YLL. RESULTS: Marked race and sex
differences were observed in estimated YLL. Among whites, a J- or U-shaped association was found
between overweight or obesity and YLL. The optimal BMI (associated with the least YLL or greatest
longevity) is approximately 23 to 25 for whites and 23 to 30 for blacks. For any given degree of
overweight, younger adults generally had greater YLL than did older adults. The maximum YLL for
white men aged 20 to 30 years with a severe level of obesity (BMI >45) is 13 and is 8 for white women.
For men, this could represent a 22% reduction in expected remaining life span. Among black men and
black women older than 60 years, overweight and moderate obesity were generally not associated with
an increased YLL and only severe obesity resulted in YLL. However, blacks at younger ages with severe
levels of obesity had a maximum YLL of 20 for men and 5 for women. CONCLUSION: Obesity appears to
lessen life expectancy markedly, especially among younger adults.
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