The primary objective of this research is to identify the contribution of obesity to international differences in longevity. Adults in the United States have a higher prevalence of obesity than adults in any other country in Europe, North America, or East Asia. At the same time, life expectancy in the United States has fallen below that of most other OECD countries and ranked 32nd in the world in 2008. One of the prime candidates to account for the US disadvantage in health and longevity is its high level of obesity. A key input to evaluating the contribution of obesity to international differences in longevity is the set of individual-level mortality risks associated with different levels of obesity. This project will identify the set of mortality risks associated with obesity that should be used in international and intertemporal comparisons. We do so by explicitly introducing two other factors on which the mortality risks associated with current obesity depend: an individual's history of obesity and his or her smoking status. The omission of obesity histories from earlier studies has led to biased estimates of the effects of current obesity. Non-smokers show a higher mortality risk from obesity than smokers, so that countries that smoke heavily should be expected to have lower risks from obesity. We will apply these sets of obesity risks to calculate population attributable risks and obesity's implications for survivorship and longevity. An important product of our work will be an explanation of the large declines that have been observed in the estimated effect of obesity on mortality. In addition, we will develop a new indirect approach to estimating the contribution of obesity to international differences in longevity by building on previous methods developed to estimate smoking-attributable mortality. Epidemiologic and demographic studies of obesity would benefit greatly from a clarification of the mortality risks associated with obesity. Such a clarification would also contribute to improved projections of mortality in the US and elsewhere. Uncertainty about future of mortality is the single factor to which fiscal balances in the Social Security Trust Fund are most sensitive. The contribution of this project to improved projections is enhanced by its explicit incorporation of obesity histories into the risk analysis, since these histories are revealed well in advance of actual mortality conditions.

Public Health Relevance

The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity and one of the lowest life expectancies among developed nations. The objective of this research is to identify the contribution of obesity to international differences in longevity. Results will lead to improved mortality projections and a clearer understanding of how obesity is influencing national mortality profiles.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AG040212-02
Application #
8324535
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAG1-ZIJ-3 (M1))
Program Officer
Patmios, Georgeanne E
Project Start
2011-09-01
Project End
2016-08-31
Budget Start
2012-09-01
Budget End
2013-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$342,302
Indirect Cost
$126,257
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Social Sciences
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
Preston, Samuel H; Vierboom, Yana C; Stokes, Andrew (2018) The role of obesity in exceptionally slow US mortality improvement. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:957-961
Cunningham, Solveig A; Patel, Shivani A; Beckles, Gloria L et al. (2018) County-level contextual factors associated with diabetes incidence in the United States. Ann Epidemiol 28:20-25.e2
Vierboom, Yana C (2017) The contribution of differences in adiposity to educational disparities in mortality in the United States. Demogr Res 37:1735-1760
Stokes, Andrew; Ni, Yu; Preston, Samuel H (2017) Prevalence and Trends in Lifetime Obesity in the U.S., 1988-2014. Am J Prev Med 53:567-575
Stokes, Andrew; Preston, Samuel H (2017) The contribution of rising adiposity to the increasing prevalence of diabetes in the United States. Prev Med 101:91-95
Mehta, Neil; Elo, Irma; Stenholm, Sari et al. (2017) International Differences in the Risk of Death from Smoking and Obesity: The Case of the United States and Finland. SSM Popul Health 3:141-152
Mehta, Neil; Myrskylä, Mikko (2017) The Population Health Benefits Of A Healthy Lifestyle: Life Expectancy Increased And Onset Of Disability Delayed. Health Aff (Millwood) :
Yu, Edward; Ley, Sylvia H; Manson, JoAnn E et al. (2017) Weight History and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in Three Prospective Cohort Studies. Ann Intern Med 166:613-620
Banack, H R; Stokes, A (2017) The 'obesity paradox' may not be a paradox at all. Int J Obes (Lond) 41:1162-1163
Fishman, Ezra (2017) Risk of Developing Dementia at Older Ages in the United States. Demography 54:1897-1919

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