Rolling out new supersize crash test dummies

Before you help yourself to your kids' Halloween candy, you might want to consider new risks.

Yes, you should check any candy your children receive to make sure it's safe, but it's probably OK. No, what we're talking about are the health and safety risks all those sugary calories carry with them.

We all know how obesity increases the chance of diabetes and heart disease, but did you know carrying extra pounds makes it more likely you'll be more seriously injured in a car accident than somebody with a healthy body mass index?

The University at Buffalo and Erie County Medical Center studied 150,000 car crashes in the United States and found that drivers considered moderately obese had a 21 percent increased risk of death. Morbidly obese drivers were 56 percent more likely to die in a crash, the 2010 study found.

The people at Humanetics, the only U.S. producer of crash-test dummies, has a solution. They've started designing new dummies simulating a 270-pound person with a body mass index of 35, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers to be morbidly obese.

Current crash dummies are modeled after a person who weighs about 167 pounds and has a healthy BMI.

Today's cars are safer than ever, with passive restraint systems, collision avoidance and stability control becoming more and more common.

But if they are involved in a crash, obese drivers and passengers are harder to treat, with procedures such as insertion of breathing tubes and chest tubes for collapsed lungs, requiring stronger EMS crews and larger equipment such as back boards, gurneys and neck collars.

Obesity is making itself felt throughout our society, whether it's through higher health care costs, shorter lifespans, lost productivity or even higher transportation costs.

Perhaps it's time to break out the apples and veggie snacks and leave the Halloween candy on the store shelves.