Gender and the burden of disease attributable to obesity.
OBJECTIVE
We estimated the burden of disease in the United States attributable to obesity by gender, with life expectancy, quality-adjusted life expectancy, years of life lost annually, and quality-adjusted life years lost annually as outcome measures.


METHODS
We obtained burden of disease estimates for adults falling into the following body-mass index categories: normal weight (23 to <25), overweight (25 to <30), and obese (> or = 30). We analyzed the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to obtain health-related quality-of-life scores and the 1990-1992 National Health Interview Survey linked to National Death Index data through the end of 1995 for mortality.


RESULTS
Overweight men and women lost 270,000 and 1.8 million quality-adjusted life years, respectively, relative to their normal-weight counterparts. Obese men and women lost 1.9 million and 3.4 million quality-adjusted life years, respectively, per year. Much of the burden of disease among overweight and obese women arose from lower health-related quality of life and late life mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Relative to men, women suffer a disproportionate burden of disease attributable to overweight and obesity, mostly because of differences in health-related quality of life.
Muennig
Peter
P
Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. pm124@columbia.edu
Lubetkin
Erica
E
Jia
Haomiao
H
Franks
Peter
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000191:economics*; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012737:Sex Factors