Mortality Attributable to Excess Body Mass Index in Iran: Implementation of the Comparative Risk Assessment Methodology

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity continues to rise worldwide with alarming rates in most of the world countries. Our aim was to compare the mortality of fatal disease attributable to excess body mass index (BMI) in Iran in 2005 and 2011. METHODS: Using standards implementation comparative risk assessment methodology, we estimated mortality attributable to excess BMI in Iranian adults of 25–65 years old, at the national and sub-national levels for 9 attributable outcomes including; ischemic heart diseases (IHDs), stroke, hypertensive heart diseases, diabetes mellitus (DM), colon cancer, cancer of the body of the uterus, breast cancer, kidney cancer, and pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: In 2011, in adults of 25–65 years old, at the national level, excess BMI was responsible for 39.5% of total deaths that were attributed to 9 BMI paired outcomes. From them, 55.0% were males. The highest mortality was attributed to IHD (55.7%) which was followed by stroke (19.3%), and DM (12.0%). Based on the population attributed fractions estimations of 2011, except for colon cancer, the remaining 6 common outcomes were higher for women than men. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the priority of the problem, there is currently no comprehensive program to prevention or control obesity in Iran. The present results show a growing need to comprehensive implications for national and sub-national health policies and interventional programs in Iran.