Table 2.

Hazard ratios for mortality from all causes according to body mass index at time of survey and body mass index at maximum

	BMI, time of survey		BMI, maximum
BMI category (kg/m 2 )	Hazard ratio	95% CI	Hazard ratio	95% CI
Normal	1.00		1.00
Overweight	0.98	(0.77-1.24)	1.28	(0.89-1.84)
Obese class 1	1.18	(0.91-1.54)	1.67 **	(1.15-2.40)
Obese class 2	1.31	(0.95-1.81)	2.15 ***	(1.47-3.14)

BMI: body mass index. See Table 1 for definitions of BMI categories. The sample includes never-smoking persons ages 50-84. Entry years are 1988-2004 with mortality follow-up through 2006. Hazard ratios are derived from Cox proportional hazards models that adjust for gender, race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, other), and educational attainment (less than high school, high school, some college, or greater). Age at exposure is specified as analysis time. The reference category in both regressions is the normal category. All estimates are weighted and account for complex survey design. Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05.