New research has confirmed that being overweight is deadly. The more weight one puts on the greater the risk of dying prematurely. The study’s findings counter an “obesity paradox,” which proposed a survival advantage with extra weight. Scientists said that 1 in 5 of all premature deaths in America and 1 in 7 in Europe are caused by obesity.
“On average, overweight people lose about one year of life expectancy, and moderately obese people lose about three years of life expectancy,” said co-researcher, Emanuele Di Angelantonio, from Britain’s University of Cambridge. Particularly, obese men are at an elevated risk. “This is consistent with previous observations that obese men have greater insulin resistance, liver fat levels and diabetes risk than women,” Di Angelantonio said.
According to The World Health Organization (WHO), 1.3 billion adults across the globe are overweight and 600 million others are classified as obese. Adult obesity is more prevalent in North America at 20 percent versus Europe at 31 percent.
It’s well-known that excess weight correlates with chronic illnesses including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, and cancer. But earlier studies indicated overweight people may not have grimmer survival rates have led to a misunderstanding about the severity of being overweight. Does it lead to bad health or kill?
The study observed data from over 10.6 million people that participated in 239 large studies in 32 countries over 45 years. A total of 1.6 million deaths were recorded across the surveys. Study subjects were tracked for an average of 14 years. The added variables of smokers, people with chronic ailments, and those who died in the first five years of follow-up were excluded. The pool left 4 million adults to study.
Researchers examined body mass index (BMI). A BMI of 18.5-25 is considered normal, 25-30 is overweight, 30-35 is moderately obese, and over 40 is severely obese. Findings showed that those with a normal BMI had a reduced risk of premature mortality—of dying before 70 years old—during the period they were observed.
The potential for premature death spiked when crossing the overweight threshold. Every 5 units higher than a BMI over 25 pointed to a 31 percent increased rate of dying early.
Source: Scientific American