[ad_1]
Obesity and excess body fat may have contributed to more deaths in England and Scotland than smoking since 2014, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.
Between 2003 and 2017, the percentage of deaths attributable to smoking decreased from 23.1% to 19.4%, while deaths attributable to obesity and excess body fat would have fallen from 17.9% to 23.1%. The authors estimate that deaths from obesity and excess body fat exceeded those from smoking in 2014.
Jill Pell, University of Glasgow, UK, said the corresponding author: “For several decades, smoking has been a major target of public health interventions as it is one of the main causes of preventable deaths. As a result, the prevalence of smoking has increased in the UK. At the same time, the prevalence of obesity has increased. Our research indicates that, since 2014, obesity and excess body fat may have contributed to more deaths in England and Scotland than smoking. “
To examine changes in the prevalence of smoking, obesity, and excess body fat in adults, the authors analyzed data collected between 2003 and 2017 as part of the Health Surveys for England and Scottish Health Surveys, out of 192,239 adults across England and Scotland, who were 50 years old on average. Participants indicated whether they had smoked regularly, and their height and weight were measured by trained interviewers or nurses. The researchers combined their data with estimates of the risk of dying from smoking (17 studies) or obesity and excess body fat (198 studies), to calculate the number of deaths that could be attributed to smoking, to obesity and excess body fat.
The authors found that while obesity and excess body fat probably accounted for more deaths than smoking since 2006 among older adults, smoking is still likely to contribute to more deaths than obesity and excess body fat in young adults. The authors suggest that among people aged 65 and over and 45 to 64, respectively, obesity and excess body fat contributed 3.5% and 3.4% more deaths than the smoking in 2017, while smoking accounted for 2.4% more deaths than obesity and excess body fat among people aged 16 to 44.
The analysis also suggests that gender influenced the contributions of smoking, obesity, and excess body fat to estimated deaths. Obesity and excess body fat may have accounted for 5.2% more deaths in 2017 than smoking among men, compared to 2.2% more deaths among women. Deaths from obesity and excess body fat are thought to have increased by 25.9% for women and 31% for men between 2003 and 2017, while deaths from smoking are believed to have decreased by 18.1% for women and 14.9% for men.
Jill Pell said: “The increase in estimated deaths from obesity and excess body fat is likely due to their contributions to cancer and cardiovascular disease. Our results suggest that public health and policy interventions aimed at to reduce the prevalence of smoking are effective and that national strategies to tackle obesity and excess body fat, with a particular focus on the middle and older age groups and men, should be a priority. public health. “
The authors caution that the number of deaths attributed to smoking, obesity and excess body fat in this study are only estimates and that the factors influencing these deaths require further investigation. Future research could examine the possible contributions of vaping, e-cigarette use, and second-hand smoke and determine whether the proportion of deaths from obesity and excess body fat differs by ethnicity.
###
Media contact
Deborah Kendall-Cheeseman
Deputy press officer
Nature Springer
T: +44 (0) 20 7843 2653
E: [email protected]
Notes to editor:
1. Research article:
“Changes over 15 years in the contribution of adiposity and smoking to deaths in England and Scotland”
BMC Public Health 2021
DOI: 10.1186 / s12889-021-10167-3
After the embargo is lifted, the article will be available here:
https: /
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All items are available free of charge, depending on BMCopen access policy of.
2. BMC Public Health is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that examines articles on the epidemiology of disease and the understanding of all aspects of public health. The journal places particular emphasis on the social determinants of health, the environmental, behavioral and occupational correlates of health and disease, and the impact of health policies, practices and interventions on the community.
3. A pioneer in open access publishing, BMC has a growing portfolio of high quality peer-reviewed journals including general interest titles such as BMC Biology and BMC Medicine, specialist journals such as Malaria Journal and Microbiomeand the BMC series. At BMC, research is still ongoing. We are committed to continuously innovating to better meet the needs of our communities, ensuring the integrity of the research we publish and championing the benefits of open research. BMC is part of Springer Nature, which gives us greater opportunities to help authors connect and advance discoveries around the world.
Warning: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of any press releases posted on EurekAlert! by the contributing institutions or for the use of any information via the EurekAlert system.
Source link
