80 million Americans run risk of premature death: study

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2006

PARIS (AFP) — More than 80 million Americans are at risk of early death and sickness because of smoking or obesity, according to a study published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Researchers make this estimate from a survey carried out in 2002, in which 29,305 adults aged 18 or more, who were deemed to be a racial and socio-economic cross-section of the United States, were interviewed about their health.

They found that 23.5 percent of respondents were obese and another 22.7 percent smoked, while 4.7 percent both smoked and were obese. Poorer people, especially African-Americans, were highly concentrated in this latter group.

"Smoking and obesity are two of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States," notes the paper, which...