Obesity Close to Smoking As Cause of Death in Us

Obesity is closing in on smoking as the number one cause of death in the US as Americans continue to pack on the pounds.

A report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that tobacco remained the number one killer, accounting for 435,000 deaths in the US during 2000, around 18.1% of all those who died that year.

But illnesses related to weight problems are catching up fast. A poor diet and physical inactivity accounted for 400,000 deaths in 2000, some 16.6% of the total. That figure was one-third higher than in 1990. Tobacco-related illnesses grew by just 9% over the same ten-year period.

An estimated 59m Americans are classified obese, generally held to be 30 pounds overweight for women and 35 to 40 pounds for men.

Obesity sharply increases chances of serious health problems like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The results appeared in yesterday's Journal of the American Medical Association. "Our worst fears were confirmed," said Dr Julie Gerberding, the CDC's director and an author of the study.

The research is the latest to highlight the issue. A separate report by the Rand think tank found that an increase in obesity threatens to wipe out many of the recent advances in health among middle-aged and older Americans.

The House of Representatives yesterday voted in favour of a bill to ban fast food restaurants' liability for consumers' health problems.