Research
Energy balance
The mortality risk associated with high BMI is significantly lower in Black individuals compared to White individuals, particularly in Black women.
For Black adults, the mortality risk associated with higher BMI is lower than for White adults, but it is not zero. Health monitoring should still be prioritized, as elevated BMI still carries some increased risk, especially in White populations.
StrongQualifiesHIGH confidence
Black men and women with the highest body-mass indexes had much lower risks of death (1.35 and 1.21), which did not differ significantly from 1.00.
Why this rating
Large sample size, rigorous controls, clear statistical differentiation by race.
Source
Body-Mass Index and Mortality in a Prospective Cohort of U.S. Adults
Eugenia E. Calle et al. · New England Journal of Medicine · 1999
DOI 10.1056/nejm199910073411501
cohort · n=1046154Cited 3,663×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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