The researchers analyzed 19 waves of the National Health Interview Survey linked to individual mortality records in the National Death Index for the years 1986 to 2006, when the most recent data are available. They focused on ages 40 to 85 in order to exclude accidental people. The and conditions that are the leading causes of death for younger study builds on earlier research by Dr. Masters that found, conventional wisdom, that risk for death from obesity increases with age. The new study is influenced by previous work by co-authors Eric PhD, associate professor at State University, and Claire Yang, PhD, associate professor at the University of North Utah Carolina-Chapel Hill, which showed significant cohort differences in U.S. obesity rates.