In the United States obesity is estimated to cause 111,909 to 365,000 deaths per year, while 1 million (7.7%) of deaths in Europe are attributed to excess weight.
Obsežne ameriške in evropske študije so pokazale, da je tveganje umrljivosti najnižje pri ITM 20–25 kg/m2 pri nekadilcih in pri 24–27 kg/m2 pri ljudeh, ki trenutno kadijo, tveganje pa se povečuje s spremembami v obe smeri.