According to new study conducted, the number of smokers is decreasing. As a result the number of persons dying from cigarette related causes is lessening. On the contrary, the problem of obesity may counteract any gains in the terms of additional years to live.
Researchers have declared that, due to the dropping rates in smoking, a typical person aged 18 years old, will benefit from an increase of 0.31 years by 2020. However, the rising rates of obesity during the same span of time will have a reverse effect on the life expectancy by reducing it by 1.02 years.
Estimates provided by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show that throughout the next decade, we will endure a loss of 0.71 years of our lifetime, time that we would have achieved if there were not so many obese people.
Moreover, the rise of the quality-adjusted expectancy of life will endure a reduction of 1.32 years. Quality-adjusted life expectancy refers to a measure that takes into consideration the levels of disability and additional factors that affect the quality of life. The study conducted shows that if all U.S adults were of required weight and did not smoke; one could expect that his life span increases by 3.76 years, or by 5.16 quality-adjusted years.
The lead author of this study, Susan T. Stewart, who is employed at the National Bureau of Economic Research as a researcher, declares that, it is not as if the life expectancy of people is going to decrease, however, there would have been a possibility that it increases by that much if an increase among obese people was not witnessed.
Stewart and her team used the national survey figures to predict that life expectancy throughout the year 2020. Their study demonstrate that smoking, which is the foremost risk factor for lung and heart diseases as well as for cancer, has declined by 20 percent in the U.S during the last 15 years.
Furthermore, a 48 percent increase has been observed in the number of obese people during the same time period. Obesity is known for its contribution to significant health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, joint problems and various sleep illnesses.
Report forecast that by year 2020, smoking will undergo a decrease of 21% while the population of obese people will experience a rise of 45 percent. There are former studies that have examined the consequences that obesity has on longevity, however this research undertaken, is the first one to have explored the mutual effects of obesity and smoking.
S.Jay Olshansky, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the School of Public Health, states that there is no one who has actually linked these two health issues. He further explains that although some people are hoping for an increase in life expectancy due to decrease in smoking, they are neglecting the fact that the increase in the rate of obese people will have a more accentuated negative effect on the life span.
Stewart adds that the degree of obesity’s influence on life expectancy might prove to be a true eye-opener. She asserts that many people will begin to question the fact that how can an inactive lifestyle be as harmful as a lethal habit such as smoking. She advanced that, that is particularly why, she and her colleagues is according so much importance to this study. They claimed that they wanted to make the population aware of their health that is not as good as it could have been. On the contrary, it will continue to worsen with time.
On the other hand, the research carried out does have shortcomings. For example, the authors’ prognosis is based on a stable rate of change in obesity.
Olshansky states that the number of children who are obese are in the rise, hence the future trends will be affected by the duration that these people remain obese. He adds that the younger generations are going to suffer from obesity much longer, that will undoubtedly lead to further and more acute weight-related health threats. He further claims that if no intervention is made now, many health problems will surface.
Turning around the obesity trends stated in the research, will most likely need a determined public health campaign, alike the one that has been able to decrease the number of smokers. Stewart says that there are broader social issues that need to be focused on in order to combat the very source of obesity. These roots consist of sedentary lifestyles, extensive availability of high-calorie food, and a reduction in the time to prepare home-made food.
According to Olshansky, dealing with obesity will call for a change in our actual relationship with food. He however remains hopeful that this problem of obesity among children will witness a change.
Data regarding the smoking trends and body-mass index used in this research have been obtained from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey respectively. Guidelines from the World Health Organization have been used to classify the BMI levels accordingly.
Reference: Health News
Sun, Jan 31, 2010
Anti Aging, Gerontology, Health And Aging, Lifestyle