The Rand Report on obesity  

Update: 2005: The CDC has admitted that a mathematical error produced the statistic that obesity deaths would exceed smoking deaths in the next five years.  It was a software error, they told the press.

For those curious about this, who missed this gem, here is the headline which has been reported by the media twice at six month intervals, making top headlines:
 
>>>>Survey: Obesity greater health risk than smoking<<<<<
 
 
In case you are wondering where the Rand Institute got this interesting result, which disagrees with even the most fat phobic medical sources, here's the description of the 'study':
 
 
>>>>>"The telephone survey, which was conducted in 1998, asked 9,585 adults about their weight, height, smoking and drinking habits, income and quality of life. They also were asked if they had any of 17 chronic health problems, including asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart problems." <<<<<
 
 
I don't wish to be unreasonably skeptical but to refer to reviewing a  1998 telephone survey of the public  as a 'scientific research study' as the news media repeated called this study, seems more than mere "literary license"!   The fact remains, few people can accurately describe a specific problem they are having with their doctor, let alone accurately portray their state of health to a telephone surveyor.

In the Rand Study (and I STILL cannot locate the funding for this other than through another organization called the Robert Wood foundation which ironically has done several anti smoking studies!), telephone surveyors asked thousands of people they called, 8 questions, among which were their height and weight and six others about