Obesity a risk factor in road accidents

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Men who are obese, or very slim, are more likely to die if they are involved in a road accident.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States. Current safety standards assume a body mass index (BMI) of around 25. However, BMI has been going up in recent years with the increase in obesity in the US and elsewhere and researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin wondered how this might affect the outcome of road accidents.

They found that men with the highest BMI were at greatest risk of death in front or left side collisions, especially at high speeds. But men with the lowest BMI were also more at risk, compared to men who were overweight but not obese. No relationship between death in a road accident and BMI was found for women.

Source
American Journal of Public Health March 2006

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