Overweight costs people many years of life

Overweight costs many years of life

06/01/2015

That overweight and obesity are not healthy has already been scientifically proven in numerous studies. In a new study, researchers have now calculated how many years of life are lost if one is too fat.

Being fat is unhealthy
That being fat is not healthy has been shown in numerous studies. Especially with very strong overweight (obesity) threatening serious sequelae such as diabetes, hypertension, arteriosclerosis (arteriosclerosis) or lipid metabolism disorders. In addition, the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as a heart attack or stroke increases. Canadian researchers have now calculated how many years of life men and women lose through being fat.

Obesity at a young age is particularly serious
Like the scientists around Dr. Steven Grover from the University of Montreal in the trade magazine „The Lancet“ Reports report that excess pounds at a young age are particularly serious. In old age, overweight is therefore no longer so problematic. To come to their conclusions, the researchers evaluated data from the National Nutrition and Examination Survey, a nutritional study with nearly 4,000 participants. They considered in particular the death data and the risks for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases of the subjects.

Healthy years of life lost
According to the study, being overweight at a young age has the biggest health impact. According to the analysis, men between the ages of 20 and 40 have a body mass index (BMI) over 35, 8.4 years earlier than their slim peers. After all, women still have 6.1 years of age to lose their obesity at this age. With a lower overweight (BMI between 25 and 30) men still lose 2.7 and women lose 2.6 years of their lifetime. The scientists also calculated how many years the subjects spent on average in good health. In the process, they came to the conclusion that the men, who were already very obese at a young age, lost 18.8 healthy years and the obese women as many as 19.1 years.

Overweight in old age with less impact
In old age, obesity and obesity are less severe. For example, obese men who make it through the age of 60 lose only one year of life and three healthy years. Slight overweight in old age seems to prolong life even a bit. Women, on the other hand, should pay even more attention to their pounds with over 60. They generally have a longer life expectancy and can therefore lose more than six years of healthy life spent in adiposity.

Extend life by 17 years
One can win even more years of life, if one not only avoids overweight, but also leaves the fingers of cigarettes and renounces alcohol and red meat. A few months ago, researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg calculated this. Men could live 17 years longer through improved health, and women nearly 14 years. Study director Prof. Rudolf Kaaks had pointed out at the time that scientific evidence of a healthy lifestyle is often considered to be a „raised index finger“ It is therefore important to clearly quantify how much life can be gained by abstaining from unhealthy habits. (Ad)