Obesity can trim 10 years off life

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese
By Nanci Hellmich
USA TODAY





Weighing too much may take as much as a decade off your life, according a new analysis of studies that involved 900,000 people.

Adults who are obese — about 40 or more pounds over a healthy weight — may be cutting about three years off their lives, mostly from heart disease and stroke.

Those who are extremely obese, about 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight, could be shortening their lives by as many as 10 years, the study found. Being extremely obese is similar to the effect of lifelong smoking, says Richard Peto, one of the lead researchers and a professor of medical statistics at Oxford University in England.

Study co-author Gary Whitlock, an epidemiologist at Oxford, says, "Obesity causes heart disease and stroke by pushing up blood pressure, mucking up blood cholesterol and triggering diabetes."

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese. About one-third of people in the USA are obese, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater. BMI is a measure based on height and weight.

The researchers and their colleagues examined the findings of 57 studies involving about 900,000 adults who were followed for 10 to 15 years. Most of the people lived in the USA or Western Europe. The scientists analyzed 70,000 deaths.

To See Findings Click Here: Obesity can trim 10 years off life