Objective: To examine the association of body mass index to all‐cause and cardiovascular
disease (CVD) mortality in white and African American women. Research methods and
procedures: Women who were members of the American Cancer Society Prevention Study I
were examined in 1959 to 1960 and then followed 12 years for vital status. Data for this
analysis were from 8,142 black and 100,000 white women. Body mass index (BMI) was
calculated from reported height and weight. Associations were examined using Cox …

Background The effect of age on optimal body weight is controversial, and few studies have
had adequate numbers of subjects to analyze mortality as a function of body-mass index
across age groups. Methods We studied mortality over 12 years among white men and
women who participated in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study I (from
1960 through 1972). The 62,116 men and 262,019 women included in this analysis had
never smoked cigarettes, had no history of heart disease, stroke, or cancer (other than skin …