Americans’ expanding girths are driving down the number of years they live in good health, a study published Tuesday said.

As the percentage of obese adults in the United States shot up by 90 percent in 16 years, from 14 percent in 1993 to 27 percent two years ago, the number of quality-adjusted life years lost because of obesity more than doubled, said the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

From 1993-2008, obesity meant more men and women from every ethnic group were dying younger or suffering ill health, the study said.

Black women were both the most likely group to be obese and lost the greatest number of quality years of life because of obesity.

They lost 68 percent more quality years of life due to obesity, and the percentage who were obese rose by around 16 percentage points, from around 25 percent in 1993 to around 41 percent of black women in 2008.

Black men were in second place on both counts, but a long way behind the women. Next came both genders of Hispanics and then whites.

Less obese states caught up with more obese states in terms of quality years of life lost during the 16-year study, which found […]