NASHVILLE, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Obese people are less likely than others to use seatbelts, a U.S. psychologist says.

David Schlundt of Vanderbilt University in Nashville said seatbelt use is "an additional public health problem associated with obesity that is not on the radar screen."

Schlundt and colleagues at Meharry Medical College in Nashville examined 2002 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, a telephone survey used to collect data on risky behaviors and health decisions associated with death.

The study, published in the journal Obesity, found approximately 55 percent of extremely obese individuals reported they did not use a seatbelt. The connection between increased body mass and decreased seatbelt use held even when controlling for other factors, such as gender, race and laws in the respondent's state.

The findings prompted the researchers to call for efforts to raise public awareness about seatbelt extenders and for engineered seatbelt solutions such as wider, more cushioned bands and greater adjustability.