Packing on the pounds is not nearly as deadly as the government thought, according to a new calculation from the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) that found people who are modestly overweight actually have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight. CDC reported that obesity accounts for 25,814 deaths a year in the U.S. According to the new calculation, obesity ranks No. 7 instead of No. 2 among the nation’s leading preventable causes of death…Last year, the CDC issued a study that attributed 400,000 deaths a year to mostly weight-related causes and said excess weight would soon overtake tobacco as the top U.S. killer. After scientists inside and outside the agency questioned the figure, the CDC admitted making a calculation error and lowered its estimate in January to 365,000.
—Associated Press, 4/20/2005