Study: Obesity Worse For Your Health Than Smoking or Problem Drinking

Obesity increases the risk of serious chronic health problems to a greater extent than either smoking or problem drinking, according to a new RAND study published in the journal Health Affairs.

"Obesity has roughly the same association with chronic health conditions as does twenty years' aging," UCLA/RAND researcher Roland Sturm reported.

Based on a 1998 household telephone survey of about 10,000 adults, the Rand study found that obese people have 30 percent to 50 percent more chronic medical problems than smokers or problem drinkers.

Obesity--linked to such chronic health problems as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers--raises an individual's healthcare costs by 36 percent and their medication costs by 77 percent, the researchers reported.

This compares with a 21 percent increase in healthcare costs and 28 percent increase in medication costs for smokers, and even smaller increases in healthcare costs for problem drinkers.

Other sources: RAND, Health Affairs