As per a new study America’s obesity epidemic puts across an equal or greater threat to health-related quality of life than smoking.

Researchers suggest that as obesity n America has risen considerably in recent years and smoking rates have reduced the contribution of obesity to the burden of disease and shortening of life has increased whereas the role of smoking has gone down.

The study showed that from 1993 to 2008, the number of smokers among U. S. adults declined by 18.5% while the proportion of obese adults increased 85%.

Information which is used from nationwide annual health-related quality-of-life surveys conducted during the same time and it was calculated by researchers the Quality-Adjusted Life Years
(QALYs) lost due to these health risk factors which are very huge.

The results were published in the American Journal of Preventive Health and these suggest that smoking-related QALYs lost remained significantly stable during this time period at 0.0438, or 16 days of healthy life lost per adult population.

Researcher Haomiao Jia, PhD, of Columbia University, and colleagues said, "because of the marked increase in the proportion of obese people, obesity has become an equal, if not greater contributor to the burden of disease than smoking."