Study: Obesity Top Cause of Preventable Life-Years Lost

A Cleveland Clinic study found that obesity was a much greater cause of lost life-years than smoking, high blood pressure, and other factors.

Published: June 11, 2017

Of the many modifiable risk factors that contribute to chronic disease and death, obesity is far and away the biggest cause of preventable life-years lost, according to a study by Cleveland Clinic and New York University. In the study, researchers found that obesity resulted in 47 percent more lost life-years than cigarette smoking.