PTI

New York, Dec 8: Being obese may increase the risk of perilous diseases like diabetes, heart attack, stroke and cancer. And it can be fatal in one more way -- it enhances the risk of dying in a car crash.

More than 42,000 deaths and three million injuries result annually from motor vehicle crashes in the United States. An estimated 26 per cent of the population or about 60 million people are obese, according to data compiled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
   
The study was conducted by the Meharry-State Farm Alliance which is a joint venture of Meharry Medical College, an historically black academic health center in Nashville, Tennessee State and State Farm, which insures cars and is the leading US home insurer.

For its study, the Alliance analysed 2002 data from the CDC's Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Researchers divided over 230,000 people into groups based on their body mass index (BMI), a measure of how overweight an individual is. The rate of always wearing seat belts was 82.6 per cent for non-obese motorists (BMI less than 25), 80.1 per cent for overweight motorists (BMI 25-29), 76.6 per cent for obese motorists (BMI 30-39) and 69.8 per cent for extremely obese motorists (BMI 40 and above). The gap climbed from 2.5 per cent for overweight, to 6.0 per cent among the obese, to 12.8 per cent among the extremely obese.

The Meharry analysis revealed that millions of Americans are increasing their risk for injury or death in motor vehicle crashes by failing to use seat belts.
   
In a study published in the November issue of journal Obesity, lead author David Schlundit, a health psychologist, reported that people who are obese have lower rates of seat belt use than their lean counterparts.

"As seat belts can reduce motor vehicle crash-related morbidity and mortality by 50 per cent," Schlundt asserted, "these findings suggest that many American motorists are unnecessarily at risk for death or injury in motor vehicle crashes."
   
Rates of obesity and extreme obesity reportedly are higher among African Americans and Latinos in the United States, suggesting that the obesity-seat belt relationship should be of particular concern to those interested in minority health and health disparities, the study says.
   
"One of the main objectives of the Meharry-State Farm Alliance is to reduce disparities in seat belt use and motor vehicle injury and death in minority populations," said Kellie Clapper, State Farm assistant vice president, community relations.
   
"This research provides one clue about the reason for the disparity."