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Overweight can cost around ten years of life early
There are always contradictory statements about how much obesity harms our body. Does too much weight shorten our life expectancy? Researchers now found that overweight and obese people have a significantly shorter life expectancy. Too much weight increases the risk of coronary heart disease, strokes, respiratory diseases and cancer. So too much weight can shorten our lifespan by up to ten years.
When people are overweight or even obese, the likelihood of certain diseases increases. An international team of scientists now found in an investigation that overweight and obesity can have even worse consequences. The international team of researchers came to the conclusion that the life expectancy of those affected is significantly reduced by too much weight. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet".
Does overweight affect the length of our lives? Scientists have found that overweight and obese people shorten their lives by up to ten years. (Image: Kurhan / fotolia.com) Heavily overweight people have life expectancy reduced by ten years
An extensive medical study now examined the link between over-weight and the risk of premature death. The result of the investigation was clear. Obesity and obesity significantly shorten our life expectancy. The impact on our life expectancy varies with weight, say the authors. Heavily overweight or obese people even have about a decade reduced life expectancy. But even if they only have a few pounds too much on the ribs and suffer from low overweight, their life expectancy decreases by about a year, the experts explain in their study.
Men are much more affected by premature mortality
Overall, the increased risk of premature death (before the age of 70 years) among overweight or obese men, about three times as large as in overweight or obese women, explain the physicians. This is in line with previous observations that obese men have higher insulin resistance, liver fat levels and a higher risk of diabetes than women, say the authors.
The WHO uses the BMI to determine obesity and obesity
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are about 1.3 billion adults in the world who are overweight. Another 600 million people are even obese. The prevalence of adiposity in adulthood in Europe is about 20 percent. In North America, the same figure is even around 31 percent, the experts explain. The WHO uses the so-called body mass index (BMI) to determine obesity or obesity. A BMI value of 18.5 to 25 is considered normal. A score of 25 to 30 is considered to be overweight, 30 to 35 to be moderately obese, and a BMI over 40 is considered to be severely obese.
Obesity increases the risk of many diseases
The new results of the research project have clearly shown that some pounds can have too much serious consequences and negative impact on life expectancy. The study clearly demonstrated that both obesity and obesity pose the risk of premature death, explains lead author Emanuele Di Angelantonio of the internationally acclaimed Cambridge University. The risk of premature death increases dramatically as we gain weight. This is due to diseases such as strokes, respiratory diseases and cancer. Researchers found that, for example, the risk of multiple sclerosis increases due to obesity.
Researchers evaluate the largest study to date on obesity and lifespan
The new study had a very broad survey basis. The number of data from patients studied is larger than in any other similar study previously, the authors explain. Never have more people been examined for the effect of overweight on longevity. For their study, the researchers evaluated the results and data from 189 previous studies in Europe, North America and other countries. At entry into the study, all subjects were between the ages of 20 and 90 years. All participants were non-smokers and did not suffer from any known chronic disease when the physicians recorded their BMI.
Study started with a dataset of 10.6 million patients
Initially, the doctors even examined a record of 10.6 million patients. These had been collected between 1970 and 2015 for individual studies. Out of this huge data set, the scientists sorted out the patients who had died prematurely, but whose death had other causes than their overweight. These included, for example, smokers and people with severe chronic diseases, say the experts.
Losing weight could save the lives of many people worldwide
The data of the surviving patients came from four different continents. These data from 3.9 million people were then finally used for the current study, say the doctors. The results of the study clearly show that the number of premature deaths would be significantly reduced if all overweight people lost weight until they reach normal weight. Thus, one in seven Europeans who died prematurely could be saved if he declines and reaches a normal BMI. In North America, even one in five victims could be saved, the authors calculated.
Overweight continues to increase throughout the world
Should the trend continue as more and more people around the world grow and become overweight, the increased death rate in North America may soon become the norm across the world, the researchers warn. Many children with overweight already suffer from hypertension today. Other research has shown that many first-grade students are overweight. So the problem starts in childhood and not in advanced age, add the experts. (As)