More than 80 million American adults are smokers, obese or both and face an increased risk of poor health and an early death, researchers said on Friday.
They used data from a 2002 national health interview survey to estimate the proportion of adults in the United States who have one or both problems.
Roughly four percent of Americans, or 9 million people, fall into both categories with a disproportionate number among the poor and those who have a low education.
“Nearly 41.5 percent of adults (81 million aged 18 or older) in the U.S. are obese or smoke and about 4.7 percent smoke and are obese,” said Cherly Healton, the head of the anti-tobacco organization American Legacy Foundation in Washington.
“Obesity and cigarette smoking are primary risk factors for several chronic conditions and early death in a large number of people in the United States,” she added.
The research published in the British Medical Journal showed that 23.5 percent of adults were obese, 22.7 percent smoked.
Among people who were obese and smoked, the proportion was higher in African Americans than other racial or ethnic groups.
Research has shown that smoking is a leading cause of preventable death. It increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, respiratory problems as well as lung and other types of cancer.
Obesity raises the odds of suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems, depression and some cancers.
Healton and her colleagues called for more research into treatments for people who smoke and are obese.
“Clinical trials should monitor the effects of programs aimed at simultaneous stopping smoking and weight control to document and respond to any unintended consequences,” she added in the study.
