Obesity now kills more people worldwide than car crashes, terror attacks and Alzheimer’s, combined. That’s according to a June study from The New England Journal of Medicine that reports the rate of obesity worldwide has more than doubled since 1980.

Researchers say the main culprit is not lack of exercise, but changes in the way food is now made with calorie-dense, high-sugar ingredients.

Comparing obesity across states, Arizona ranks better than many, tied for 29th overall. But the Centers for Disease Control report nearly 20 percent of Arizona’s 10 to 17-year-olds are classified as obese, ranking the state 7th nationwide. Low-cost, lower-quality food products are cited as one reason.

Mark Gold, a researcher in addiction and neuroscience and a retired professor, says food is increasingly addictive.

“I think as tobacco smoking has decreased, the public health savings that we all predicted would follow have not been found. And the reason for that is because of the epidemic of overeating, food addiction, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and overeating related consequences,”  Gold said.

He said food-related illnesses are the new tobacco, and food-related problems are easily the nation’s number one public health crisis.