Death toll from obesity catches up with tobacco

- 3/10/2004 - Deaths due to poor diet and lack of exercise have risen by more than a third in the last ten years, said the US government yesterday, citing new research that suggests obesity could soon overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death.

In 2000, 400,000 – one in 700 Americans - deaths were related to eating badly and physical inactivity, slightly under the 435,000 figure linked to tobacco, finds the new study released by the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Americans need to understand that overweight and obesity are literally killing us," said Health Secretary Tommy G. Thompson yesterday unveiling a new government drive to stem the rising tide.

Far from a revolution, the new HHS and Ad Council advertising campaign aims to educate Americans that they can take small, achievable steps to improve their health and reverse the obesity epidemic.

Consumers don't need to go to extremes - such as joining a gym or taking part in the latest diet plan - to make improvements in their health - but they do need to get active and eat healthier, said the health secretary, looking to slash the estimated $117 billion that obesity costs the US in medical fees and lost productivity each year.

Approximately 129.6 million Americans, or 64 per cent, are overweight or obese, a physical condition shown to increase the risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.

But solutions to the harmful consumption patterns of the Americans revealed by the study will not come overnight. They are rooted in a steady adaptation of the culture and in small steps to improve the consumer’s relationship with food.

Paradoxically, parallel to the rise in obesity is the growing interest in functional foods formulated by the food industry. Suppliers of ingredients for health food products in the US, and Europe, have witnessed decent growth in this segment in the past five years. The campaign launched by Thompson this week will only further this growth as he enourages consumers to eat ‘healthier foods’.

According to the $500 billion US food processing industry Americans spend an estimated $33 billion annually on weight control products.

For 2004 NIH funding for obesity research will come in at $400.1 million, a slight rise on $378.6 million last year. According to the government, the budget request for 2005 has been pitched at $440.3 million, a 10 per cent increase on the current year.

The . CDC study, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000", is published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.