Obesity Kills One in Five Americans

Obesity is three times deadlier than previously estimated. New research published in the American Journal of Public Health reveals between 1986 and 2006, obesity-related illnesses caused 18 percent of deaths in the United States for Americans aged 40-85 years. That’s a sobering statistic given the fact more than one-third of U.S. adults are obese.

The study determined more women die from obesity-related causes: 27 percent of African-American women and 21 percent of white women versus 5 percent of African-American men and 16 percent of white men. What’s more, obese children who then become obese adults are more at risk for obesity-related death. For the first time, our children’s generation could have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.