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CDC Corrects Obesity Death Number Downward
Obesity helped kill 365,000, rather than 400,000 per
year in 2000
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
Jan. 19, 2005 – The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention now says the increase in obesity-related deaths since 1990 is
not 100,000 per year but just 65,000, and blames a computer error for
their prediction last March that this problem was about to pass tobacco
as the number one American killer.
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Original Obesity Story |
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Study Shows Poor Diet, Inactivity Close To
Becoming Leading Preventable Cause of Death
March 10, 2004 - A new study released by HHS' Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention shows that deaths due to poor diet and physical
inactivity rose by 33 percent over the past decade and may soon overtake
tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death.
More... |
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More Obesity Stories |
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Obesity in Older Adults Tied to Dozens of Health
Problems
Nov. 22, 2004 – A study of over 73,000 older adults
has found obesity is linked to a large number of poor health problems.
Carrying extra weight was tied to 37 of the 41 health conditions studied
in women and 29 of 41 conditions in men.
More...
11/22/04*
Cost of Treating Obesity in Older
Americans Skyrockets
March 10, 2004 - Obesity, particularly in people 50-69,
got a double blast of bad news yesterday. The RAND Corporation released a
study saying the cost of obesity in older Americans could jump by 50 percent
by 2020. At the same time, Health and Human Services announced obesity is now
the second leading cause of death in the U.S.
More... 3/10/04*
FDA Joins War On Obesity
Obesity Working Group Issues Report Urging More, Better
Consumer Information
March 12, 2004 - A Food and Drug Administration report
was issued today that calls for strengthening food labeling, educating
consumers about healthy diet and weight, and encouraging restaurants to
provide calorie and nutrition information.
More... 3/12/04*
Obesity: Study Links It With Atrial
Fibrillation; CDC Says Earlier Info on Obesity Deaths Wrong
Nov. 24, 2004 – A new study says obesity may
increase the risk of developing the heart rhythm disorder artrial
fibrillation. But, on the other side of the coin, the AP is reporting
that earlier government data saying obesity is about to overtake smoking
as the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. contained statistical errors and
probably overstated the problem.
More, including other stories
on obesity... 11/24/04*
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In March, CDC issued an alarm that 400,000 deaths
in 2000 were associated with obesity and said this was a stunning
increase of 33 percent (100,000) in obesity-related deaths over 1990,
and predicted obesity was about to pass tobacco as a leading cause of
death. Although they admitted in November there was a problem with their
numbers, they made the correction yesterday to 65,000.
The CDC says deaths
related to tobacco use in 2000 were 435,000.
The original report, co-authored by CDC director,
Dr. Julie Gerberding, was cited prominently in the March 2004 kickoff of
a major government anti-obesity campaign.
"Through an error in our
computations we overestimated the number of deaths caused by poor diet
and physical inactivity," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
said in a letter published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, where the original report was published.
Ali Mokdad, lead author of the study, and
co-authors also wrote the letter and say their principal conclusions
remained unchanged:
"Our principal
conclusions, however, remain unchanged: tobacco use and poor diet and
physical inactivity contributed to the largest number of deaths, and the
number of deaths related to poor diet and physical inactivity is
increasing," the letter said.
"The combination of diet, physical inactivity and
tobacco are all leading causes of death, causing far more than a
majority of total deaths in this country in the year 2000," said Donna
Stroup of CDC. "Regardless of the controversy, it's clear to people
these are the three underlying causes of death most important to the
country."
The CDC launched an
internal review of the study, using independent statisticians,
after researchers criticized its methodology in letters published in the
journal Science.
Some critics of the controversial study remained
unsatisfied, according to some news reports, saying the study has even
deeper methodological flaws that further exaggerate obesity's death
toll.
Reports by the AP, Reuters and the Chicago
Tribune were used in this story.
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