David Martosko The Center For Consumer Freedom

“300,000 Deaths”

“A fast-food company like McDonald’s may not be responsible for the entire obesity epidemic,” Banzhaf says. “But let's say they’re 5 percent responsible. Five percent of $117 billion is still an enormous amount of money.” — Time Magazine, August 3, 2003

“…in the middle of a killer epidemic is it really a good idea to have three fast-food joints within a half a block of a high school? There is no reason we can’t, through zoning and planning, regulate the location, density, or hours of junk-food outlets…” — Washington Monthly, December 2001

Avoid inadvertent exaggeration or misrepresentation

Obesity causes 300,000 deaths per year 61 percent of Americans are overweight or obese The economic cost of obesity is $117 billion per year Obesity causes 300,000 deaths per year 61 percent of Americans are overweight or obese The economic cost of obesity is $117 billion per year The three most common obesity statistics:

These three numbers are all flawed

300,000 deaths a year?

“the data linking overweight and death…are limited, fragmented and often ambiguous.” — New England Journal of Medicine editorial, January 1998

“[T]hat figure is by no means well established. Not only is it derived from weak or incomplete data, but it is also called into question by the methodologic difficulties of determining which of the many factors contribute to premature death.”

$117 billion per year?

Just one study: Obesity Research March 1998

“We are still uncertain about the actual amount of health utilization associated with overweight and obesity. Height and weight are not included in many of the primary data sources…”

“The current estimate of the cost of obesity defines obesity as a BMI ≥29.”

Obesity actually BMI ≥30.

Over 10 million people

Double and triple counting of costs

“Our model assumes that coronary heart-disease, hypertension, and diabetes occur independently. However, we know that there is some interdependence among these disease states, especially in obese patients. Thus, calculating the cost of obesity as it related to these diseases independently would inflate the cost estimate.”

61 percent of Americans are overweight or obese?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a poor standard

“Overweight may or may not be due to increases in body fat. It may also be due to an increase in lean muscle. For example, professional athletes may be very lean and muscular, with very little body fat, yet they may weigh more than others of the same height. While they may qualify as ‘overweight’ due to their large muscle mass, they are not necessarily ‘over fat,’ regardless of BMI.” — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“Two people can have the same BMI, but a different percent body fat. A bodybuilder with a large muscle mass and a low percent body fat may have the same BMI as a person who has more body fat because BMI is calculated using weight and height only.” — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The President of the United States is overweight

The Governor-Elect of California is obese

New standard

1998 redefinition of “overweight” to BMI≥25.

Recommendations

Caution the FDA against using “$117 billion” and “300,000” figures

Communicate: BMI is an imperfect standard