Obesity linked to decreased seatbelt use

Schlundt and his colleagues at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.
examined 2002 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Seatbelt use declined as BMI increased, with approximately 55 percent of extremely obese individuals reporting they did not use a seatbelt. The connection between increased body mass index and decreased seatbelt use held even when controlling for other factors, such as gender, race and seatbelt laws in the respondent’s state. Maybe accident report forms used by EMS and police need to include obesity as a factor to be coded when investigating accidents.