Obesity Reduces Life Span of Young Adults, According to UAB Study

A young white man who is severely overweight may expect to live 13 fewer years than a non-obese young man, according to a recent study published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Considering a 20-year-old white male is expected to live until age 78, 13 fewer years is a 22 percent reduction in his remaining years of life,” said David B. Allison, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and associate director of UAB’s Clinical Nutrition Research Center.

January 8, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL - A young white man who is severely overweight may expect to live 13 fewer years than a non-obese young man, according to a recent study published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Considering a 20-year-old white male is expected to live until age 78, 13 fewer years is a 22 percent reduction in his remaining years of life," said David B. Allison, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and associate director of UAB's Clinical Nutrition Research Center.

The study also found that young white women who are obese might expect to live eight fewer years, a 13 percent reduction in expected remaining years. Unlike their white counterparts, reduced life expectancy was not observed in overweight and moderately obese blacks. However, young blacks considered severely obese experience a reduced life expectancy of as much as 20 years. "Findings indicate that obesity significantly lessens life span, especially among younger adults," says Allison.

An estimated 64 percent of adults are overweight and at least 30 percent of those are obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. "It's a major public health problem," said Allison, "and years of life lost is just one consequence of obesity. It also increases the risk of developing more serious medical conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis."

In an attempt to convey to the public the magnitude of the problem, public health officials and organizations have emphasized increased health care costs and higher death rates of obese individuals; however, messages have been ineffective in persuading the public to lose weight. "Perhaps because messages focus on the effects of obesity on the population as a whole rather than on individuals," said Allison. "Years of life lost due to overweight and obesity is one way to emphasize the individual effect of obesity."

Findings for adults aged 18 to 85 were calculated based on information gathered from the following sources: the US Life Tables (1999), the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the first National Health and Nutrition Epidemiological Follow-up Study and the NHANES II Mortality Study. (NHANES is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Obesity was determined based on body mass index, a measure of body fat in relationship to an individual's weight and height. A BMI of 25 - a 5'4" person weighing 145 lbs. or a 6' person weighing 184 lbs. - is considered overweight. A BMI of 30 - a 5'4" person weighing 174 lbs. or a 6' person weighing 221 lbs. - is considered obese.

The study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Arthritis Foundation.