[There is] a strong association between the prevalence of obesity and cardio vascular disease risk factors…
the prevalence of hypertension (blood pressure greater than 160/95) is 2.9 times higher for the overweight than for the nonoverweight. The prevalence is 5.6 times higher for the young (20 through 44 years old) overweight than for the nonoverweight subjects in this age group. The prevalence is twice as high for the obese older (45 through 74 years old) group as it is for the nonoverweight subjects of the same age.
The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia(blood cholesterol over 250 mg/dl) in the young overweight age group is 2.1 times that of the nonoverweight group; overweight and nonoverweight subjects show similar prevalences for hypercholesterolemia after age 45.
The prevalence of reported diabetes is 2.9 times higher in overweight than nonoverweight persons…
there is a positive relationship of obesity to the risk of coronary artery heart disease…
Obese males, regardless of smoking habits, had a higher mortality from cancer of the colon, rectum, and prostate. Obese females had a higher mortality from cancer of the gallbladder, biliary passages, breast (postmenopausal), uterus (including both cervix and endometrium), and ovaries. In the case of endometrial cancer, women with marked obesity showed the highest relative risk (5.4) for the obese versus the nonobese.