Obese more likely to die in car crashes--study

Obese people already are prone to develop hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea, and gallbladder disease.

Now a team of medical experts have added mortality risk in severe traffic accidents to the surging list of health hazards linked to excessive weight.

Researchers from the University at Buffalo and Erie County Medical Center found in their study that an obese person has a considerably higher risk of dying in a severe automobile accident than those with normal weight.

Study details
For the study, Dr. Dietrich Jehle, the study’s lead author and a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Buffalo, and colleagues analyzed 155,584 car crashes in the U.S from 2000 to 2005 that involved one or two vehicles.

The research team separated the study subjects into underweight, normal, overweight, slightly obese, moderately obese and morbidly obese categories, and found that moderately obese drivers, possessing a BMI of 35 to 39, had a 21 percent increased risk of death, compared to somebody of normal weight; the increased risk of not surviving for severely obese drivers, who had a BMI of 40 or above, was 56 percent higher, according to Daily Mail.

Interestingly, the risk was also higher for underweight and normal weight male and female drivers, while mild obesity seemed to be protective.

Based on the analysis of data from the national Fatality Analysis Reporting System Database (FARS), the study suggests that a small amount of belly fat may cushion the driver from impact, but excessive body fat increases mortality risk by placing drivers too close to the steering wheel.

Other medical issues accompanying obesity add to the risk
The study authors also noticed that obese people are more likely to suffer other health issues, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which they say could act as complicating factors during surgery after an auto accident.

“The severity and patterns of crash injuries depend on a complex interaction of factors, including deceleration velocity at impact, seat belt and air bag use, vehicle type and weight, and type of impact.

“But the effect of body mass on crash outcome has not been previously evaluated in databases of adequate size or controlled for some of these confounding factors,” Daily Mail reported Jehle as saying.

Authors suggest redesigning of cars
The study authors recommend that auto manufacturers should redesign their cars that protect people with expanding waistlines. As the obesity rate in the United States has increased, the authors say “there could be further improvements in vehicle design that could decrease mortality.”

In addition to allow obese drivers to push their seats back from the steering wheel farther than current models allow, "we also recommend that manufacturers design and test vehicle interiors with obese dummies, which currently are not available, in addition to testing with the 50 percentile (BMI 24.3) male dummy," Jehle said.

"It would improve safety for the one-third of the U.S. population that is obese. For underweight and normal weight individuals, placing airbags within the seat belt also might be protective."

The findings were published online ahead of print in the 'American Journal of Emergency Medicine.'