Sociologists have found a direct relationship between obesity and longer and more frequent hospital stays, reports Science Daily.  Researchers now know that on average, people who are obese stay one and a half days longer in the hospital than those of normal weight. 

The study was conducted at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  Ken Ferraro, PhD., a sociologist at Purdue University, adds that “the longer a person is obese, the longer their stay in the hospital.”  Those in the study who had been obese since childhood had the longest hospital stays.  Thus Ferraro emphasizes that fighting obesity at a young age is crucial to avoiding diseases and hospital stays later on in life.

The primary reason for these longer hospitalization periods is disease.  Obesity is linked to causing high blood pressure, diabetes, strokes, and other illnesses.  Science Daily reports that forty-six percent of obese adults in this study suffered from high blood pressure.

Mississippi currently holds the highest rate of adult obesity in the country.  Ferraro adds a tip for keeping weight off, noting that, "If you can tell other people that you're on a diet, a lot of them actually might help you to stay on that diet, but if you're silent to your friends, then obviously they can't support you."