Obese people found more prone to injuries

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jul 20, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- An Ohio State University study indicates extremely obese people are more likely than normal-weight people to injure themselves.

Researchers collected health and injury data during a one-year period from more than 2,500 adults living in Colorado. More than one of four (26 percent) of the extremely obese male participants reported personal injuries, and more than one of five (21.7 percent) extremely obese women also reported injuries.

By comparison, about 17 percent of normal-weight men reported injuries, as did nearly 12 percent of normal-weight women, said Huiyun Xiang, the study's lead author and an investigator with the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children's Research Institute.

Although other studies have looked at the relationship between obesity and injury, those studies were conducted either among adults in highly structured work environments or high school students, Xiang said. The current study is one of the first to look at the risk of injury in the general population.

The results appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.