Years of life lost due to obesity

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, 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.