title: Contribution of obesity to international differences in life expectancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity and one of the lowest life expectancies among high-income countries. We investigated the relationship between these 2 phenomena.
  
  
  METHODS
  We estimated the fraction of deaths attributable to obesity by country, age, and sex and reestimated life tables after removing these deaths. To allow for a possible secular decline in obesity risks, we employed alternative risks from a more recent period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our baseline analysis, obesity reduced US life expectancy at age 50 years in 2006 by 1.54 years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.37, 1.93) for women and by 1.85 years (95% CI = 1.62, 2.10) for men. Removing the effects of obesity reduced the US shortfall by 42% (95% CI = 36, 48) for women and 67% (95% CI = 57, 76) for men, relative to countries with higher life expectancies. Using more recently recorded risk data, we estimated that differences in obesity still accounted for a fifth to a third of the shortfall.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of obesity in the United States contributes substantially to its poor international ranking in longevity.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. spreston@sas.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Samuel H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stokes
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019049:Developed Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology