Compared to their white counterparts, obesity is less of a health hazard for blacks, according to research by the American Cancer Society. Being overweight, increases the chances of dying from cancer and heavier people face a higher risk of death.
The research, based on an analysis of more than 201,000 U.S. adult deaths, found that:
- The heaviest white men had a death rate that was 158% higher than the rate of men overall who were not overweight. By contrast, the death rate of black men was only 35% higher than those who were not overweight.
- Among the heaviest white women, the death rate was 100% higher; yet for black women there was no statistically significant risk from being overweight.
- The lowest death rates were among men with a body-mass index of 22 to 26.4 and among women with an index from 20.5 to 24.9. (Body-mass index is derived by taking the weight, measured in kilograms, and dividing it by the square of the height, measured in meters.)
The study is published in the Oct. 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
(American Cancer Society, Dr. Eugenia Calle, 404/320-2408)