Sturm, Roland and Kenneth B. Wells, The Health Risks of Obesity: Worse Than Smoking, Drinking or Poverty. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2002. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB4549.html.
Obesity is widely recognized as a health risk. The negative effects of obesity and other known health risks, such as smoking, heavy drinking, and poverty, have been well documented. But until now, no one has compared them. Is one problem worse than another? Or are they all equally risky?
Two RAND researchers, health economist Roland Sturm and psychiatrist Kenneth Wells, examined the comparative effects of obesity, smoking, heavy drinking, and poverty on chronic health conditions and health expenditures. Their finding: Obesity is the most serious problem. It is linked to a big increase in chronic health conditions and significantly higher health expenditures. And it affects more people than smoking, heavy drinking, or poverty.
Read the full article here https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB4549.html
