TUESDAY, Jan. 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) — The death rate in the United States isn’t decreasing as it has in years past, and some experts blame the opioid epidemic. But a new study suggests America’s increasing girth is what’s really behind the slowdown.
Excess weight led to nearly 200,000 excess deaths in 2011. And overall, those extra pounds reduced life expectancy by almost one year at age 40, researchers determined.
“Rising levels of body mass index [BMI] have prevented the United States from enjoying the full benefits of factors working to improve mortality,” wrote study author Samuel Preston and
