- Series Information
- [UNTITLED]
- Preface
- Contributors
- Introduction
- The Epidemiology of Obesity
- The Demography of Obesity
- The Cliometrics of BMI and Obesity
- The Anthropology of Obesity
- The Psychology of Obesity
- The Sociology of Obesity
- The Economics of Obesity
- Behavioral Economics and Obesity
- Obesity Politics and Policy
- Fat Studies
- Publicly Available Data Useful for Social Science Research on Obesity
- The Complex Systems Science of Obesity
- Challenges for Causal Inference in Obesity Research
- Race, Ethnicity, and Obesity
- Socioeconomic Status and Obesity
- The Nutrition Transition and Obesity
- Peer Effects and Obesity
- Maternal Employment
- Depression and Obesity
- Food Marketing, Television, and Video Games
- Portion Size and the Obesity Epidemic
- Mindless Eating: Environmental Contributors to Obesity
- Food Assistance and Obesity
- Physical Activity and the Built Environment
- Food Deserts
- Food Prices, Income, and Body Weight
- Agricultural Policy and Childhood Obesity
- Obesity and Medical Costs
- Obesity and Mortality
- Schooling and Human Capital
- Labor Market Consequences: Employment, Wages, Disability, and Absenteeism
- Bias, Stigma, and Discrimination
- Medical and Social Scientific Debates over Body Weight
- The Imperative of Changing Public Policy to Address Obesity
- Economic Perspectives on Obesity Policy
- Lessons for Obesity Policy from the Tobacco Wars
- Food Taxes and Subsidies: Evidence and Policies for Obesity Prevention
- School-Based Interventions
- Workplace Obesity Prevention Programs
- Community Interventions
- Regulation of Food Advertising
- Unintended Consequences of Obesity Prevention Messages
- Behavioral Treatment of Obesity
- Anti-Obesity Drugs and Bariatric Surgery
- Correlates of Successful Maintenance of Weight Loss
- Cost- Effectiveness of Anti-Obesity Interventions
- Cited Authors Index
- Subject Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter reports that the mortality penalty linked with obesity has been falling in recent decades. It describes how, in current data, the relationship between obesity and mortality is complex; although class II and III obesity are associated with elevated mortality risk, overweight and class I obesity are generally not associated with higher mortality. Studies that measure body mass index (BMI) when respondents are middle aged and model mortality into later life can give a better sense of the BMI and mortality relationship at the older ages. A high BMI is a small source of excess deaths in the United States, although this topic continues to be controversial. Studies that measure BMI in middle age and model subsequent mortality may give a better sense of the effect of BMI on mortality for those over the age of 50.
Keywords: obesity, mortality, body mass index
Neil K. Metha is a Health and Society Scholar sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Virginia W. Chang is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Access to the complete content on Oxford Handbooks Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.
Please subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.
For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can''t find the answer there, please contact us.
- Series Information
- [UNTITLED]
- Preface
- Contributors
- Introduction
- The Epidemiology of Obesity
- The Demography of Obesity
- The Cliometrics of BMI and Obesity
- The Anthropology of Obesity
- The Psychology of Obesity
- The Sociology of Obesity
- The Economics of Obesity
- Behavioral Economics and Obesity
- Obesity Politics and Policy
- Fat Studies
- Publicly Available Data Useful for Social Science Research on Obesity
- The Complex Systems Science of Obesity
- Challenges for Causal Inference in Obesity Research
- Race, Ethnicity, and Obesity
- Socioeconomic Status and Obesity
- The Nutrition Transition and Obesity
- Peer Effects and Obesity
- Maternal Employment
- Depression and Obesity
- Food Marketing, Television, and Video Games
- Portion Size and the Obesity Epidemic
- Mindless Eating: Environmental Contributors to Obesity
- Food Assistance and Obesity
- Physical Activity and the Built Environment
- Food Deserts
- Food Prices, Income, and Body Weight
- Agricultural Policy and Childhood Obesity
- Obesity and Medical Costs
- Obesity and Mortality
- Schooling and Human Capital
- Labor Market Consequences: Employment, Wages, Disability, and Absenteeism
- Bias, Stigma, and Discrimination
- Medical and Social Scientific Debates over Body Weight
- The Imperative of Changing Public Policy to Address Obesity
- Economic Perspectives on Obesity Policy
- Lessons for Obesity Policy from the Tobacco Wars
- Food Taxes and Subsidies: Evidence and Policies for Obesity Prevention
- School-Based Interventions
- Workplace Obesity Prevention Programs
- Community Interventions
- Regulation of Food Advertising
- Unintended Consequences of Obesity Prevention Messages
- Behavioral Treatment of Obesity
- Anti-Obesity Drugs and Bariatric Surgery
- Correlates of Successful Maintenance of Weight Loss
- Cost- Effectiveness of Anti-Obesity Interventions
- Cited Authors Index
- Subject Index
