Research
Energy balance
Overweight/obesity and physical inactivity are each responsible for nearly 1 in 10 deaths in the US, making them major contributors to preventable mortality.
Maintain a healthy weight and stay physically active. These two factors contribute to nearly 20% of all adult deaths combined. Addressing them through diet and exercise offers significant mortality benefits.
StrongSupportsHIGH confidence
Overweight–obesity (216,000; 188,000–237,000) and physical inactivity (191,000; 164,000–222,000) were each responsible for nearly 1 in 10 deaths.
Why this rating
Based on nationally representative surveys (NHANES), systematic reviews, and NCHS mortality data.
Source
The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors
Goodarz Danaei et al. · PLoS Medicine · 2009
DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000058
Meta-analysisCited 2,880×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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