Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
A team of scientists supported by the National Institute
on Aging report that over the next few decades, life expectancy
for the average American could decline by as much as five years. This would
be the first sustained drop in life expectancy in the United States
in the modern era, and the most likely cause is obesity.
Obesity in U.S. adults has increased 50 percent per
decade since 1980. The severely obese live an average of 20
years less than the non-obese. More than 20 other developed
nations, including France, Japan, Germany, Sweden, and the
United Kingdom, have a higher average life expectancy than the
U.S. The people who are most likely to maintain a healthful
weight are those who exercise and control their calorie intake by
limiting fatty foods and refined carbohydrates.
New England Journal of Medicine, March 17, 2005
10/30/05