Obesity may shorten your life
Written by Fareed Warrad on March 17, 2009 – 10:54 PM -Written By: Fareed Warrad | March 17, 2009 | 10:32 PM EST
A new study shows that being obese can shorten your life. Gary Whitlock, a researcher from the Clinical Trial Service Unit at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom said “Moderate obesity typically shortens life span by about three years. By moderate obesity, I mean weighing about a third more than is ideal, which for most people would mean being about 50 or 60 pounds overweight.” Mr. Whitlock continued “More than one in three middle-aged Americans are now in this category, Whitlock said. “By contrast, weighing twice your ideal weight — say, an extra 150 pounds — shortens life span by about 10 years,” he added.”
Although this obesity level is still not common, albeit it does equals the known 10-year reduction in life span caused by smoking. “So, smoking is about as dangerous as being severely obese, and about three times as dangerous as being moderately obese,” he said.
The Lancet published the report in the March 18 online edition. Whitlock and other members of the Prospective Studies Collaboration collected data on 894,576 men and women who participated in 57 studies for the study. The people in these studies came primarily from western Europe and North America and had an average body-mass index (BMI) was 25. According to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Body Mass Index, also known as BMI, is a calculation that expresses a relationship between height and weight. To be considered underweight people must have a BMI of less than 18.5. People are considered normal weight when the BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, overweight when BMI is between 25 and 29.9, and obese when BMI is 30 or more.
Researchers discovered that men and women lived the longest when their BMI was between 22.5 and 25. They also noted for a person 5 feet 7 inches tall, his or her optimum weight would be about 154 pounds.
Researchers reported folks who have a BMI over 25, every 10 to 12 pound increase translated to about a 30 percent increased risk of dying. In addition to that fact, there was a 40 percent increase in the risk for heart disease, stroke and other vascular disease, a 60 percent to 120 percent increased risk of diabetes, liver disease or kidney disease, a 10 percent increased risk of cancer, and also 20 percent increased risk for lung disease. “Obesity causes kidney disease, liver disease and several types of cancer, but the most common way it kills is by causing stroke and, most importantly, heart disease. Obesity causes heart disease by pushing up blood pressure, by interfering with blood cholesterol levels, and by bringing on diabetes,” Whitlock said.
Continuing, Whitlock stated “People who are moderately obese with a BMI in the 30 to 35 range reduced their life span by two and four years. For those who are severely obese with BMIs between 40 and 45, their life span was reduced by eight to 10 years. That’s comparable to the effects of smoking. In fact, people whose weight was below normal also died earlier, due mainly to smoking-related diseases. If you are obese and smoke, then, above all else, quit smoking. If you are obese and don’t smoke, then don’t start, and do what you can to avoid further weight gain. By avoiding further weight gain, you may well live a few years longer than you otherwise would do. By quitting smoking, a smoker can expect to gain several extra years of life — about as many as a severely obese person might gain by shedding half of his or her body weight.”
“This study confirms that the obesity epidemic is “the clear and present danger many of us knew it to be.” Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, said.
Due in part to uncertainty about weight estimates and debate about measurement methods, the association between BMI and mortality has been challenged in the scientific community. “Here we have an emphatic reaffirmation of the fundamental issue: Overweight and obesity take years from life. We know that, in many ways, BMI is a crude measure of the health risks associated with obesity, since not all excess body fat is created equal. Weight gained around the middle tends to be most dangerous, so for those subject to this pattern, risks may indeed be higher than this study suggests. For those with lower body weight gain, risks may be lower,” ” Katz said.
The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in the Nov. 13 issue that also found that where weight is centered is a risk factor. Women with the largest waist circumference increased their risk of death by 78 percent, and men with the largest waist circumference had more than double the risk of death.
