Obesity can be as bad as smoking

Gross obesity can take 10 years off your life, as much as heavy smoking, and even being moderately overweight can take two to three years off, according to British researchers.

A team headed by Dr. Richard Peto, one of the world's leading experts on the health effects of smoking, and Dr. Gary Whitlock, both of the University of Oxford, analyzed 57 studies conducted in the United States and Europe involving 894,576 people, 61% of them male. During the course of the study, about 100,000 of the participants died.

The team correlated deaths to the body mass index or BMI, a commonly used measure of obesity that relates a person's weight to their height. A BMI of 25 or lower is considered normal, a BMI of 30 to 35 is considered moderately obese and a BMI higher than 40 is considered grossly obese. For a man or woman who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, a weight of 175 pounds gives a BMI of 25, a weight of 210 pounds gives a BMI of 30, and a weight of 280 pounds gives a BMI of 40.

The team reported today in the online version of the medical journal Lancet that every five-unit increase in BMI is associated with a risk of about one-third that of lifelong smoking. That is, people with a BMI over 30 have about one-third the added risk associated with smoking and are likely to have their lives shortened by two to three years. Those with BMIs over 35 have two-thirds the increased risk of smokers and are likely to lose five to seven years of life. And those with a BMI over 40 have the same increased risk as smokers and will likely lose eight to 10 years of life.

"Excess weight shortens human lifespan," Whitlock said in a statement. "If you are becoming overweight or obese, avoiding further weight gain could well add years to your life."

Moreover, Peto added, prevention is better than a cure. "In adult life, it may be easier to avoid substantial weight gain than to lose weight once it has been gained," he said. And "changing your diet but keeping on smoking is not the way to increase lifespan. For smokers, the key thing is that stopping smoking works."

The research, which was funded by Britain's Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK, among others, will be published in the March 28 edition of the journal.

-- Thomas H. Maugh II

Comments

[abby0802]

I was obese -- had type 2 diabetes, hypertension and a host of other problems. Couldn't lose weight no matter what I tried -- diet and exercise both. Then I hHad gastric bypass. I lost more than half of my weight -- lost my diabetes, hypertension and that host of other problems.

I would not be able to do what I am doing now without weight loss.

If you are overweight, obese -- get to a doctor and do what you have to do and save your life.

[Rose]

I have found that walking at my treadmill desk all day keeps my weight in check and gives me a boost in energy. I have also learned that walking as much as I do prevents heart disease, diabetes, cancers and a multitude of other diseases. You can find treadmill desks online fairly easily and there are some very affordable options as well. I like the TrekDesk version for affordability and accessoires.

[Richard Mumolo]

The attack on the obese is starting. The control freaks, have the battle against the evil smokers under control, and are now setting their sights on some other minority to attack. This was predicted, back when the control freaks first started attacking the evil smokers. I already knew at the time, that while the long term health risks of smoking are considerable, the short term health problems related to obesity are considerably worse. I agree that both are a problem. I don't agree with the control freaks who start attacking evil minorities, to save them from themselves.

[S Gupta]

Obesity is not the problem per se. It is the adverse health consequences such as diabetes and strokes that are so costly. In November Harvard Medical School studied obese mice. The team of researchers gave one group biotivia transmax resveratrol extract, a lab grade version of a compound found in red wine, and the other a placebo. The group receiving resveratrol lived 31% longer and did not contract the normal diseases of obesity such as diabetes, tumors, and cardiac diseases. Their endurance and energy levels also improved dramatically. This study has important implications for treatment of obesity in humans and for lowering the human, social and health care cost of Diabetes. We need to look at more innovative approaches to this problem as the tired old remedies simply waste time and money and blaming the sufferer only exacerbates the suffering.

[Jon R]

Saying that the side effects of obesity are the problem, and not obesity itself is like saying a broken hip is the problem, not the car accident that it resulted from. Anyone is free to be any weight they choose to be, just don't pretend that the lifestyle you decide to live isn't relevant to your longevity and well-being.

[FatNSassy]

Nonsense. I am a sociologist who has researched the stigma of obesity for years and I can tell you this study, like most obesity studies are flawed.
# 1 A study that uses other studies is called a data dredge. One simply plugs in numbers and manipulates stats. You can find anything you want. No doubt it was funded in part by weight loss interests. If it makes all the major media outlets as this one has, it is marketing, not science.
#2 Obesity in industrial countries is associated with poverty. Is if fair to look at fatter people who are poorer and lack health insurance, compare them to thinner richer people, find more people in the first group die early, and attribute all the earlier deaths to obesity? Of course not. The reason they don't control for social class is that they want to find negative news about obesity. It sells products
#3 Some fat people die because of risky weight loss practices like dangerous pills and surgery. The side effects of fen-phen and all the other deadly weight loss products are counted under obesity. Most studies are sponsored by those with ties to Pharma and of course they are not going to say their golden goose is killing people. Better to let them think it is their own fatso they can buy more dangerous products, die more often, and the cycle continues. While pharma laughs all the way to the bank.

Health and beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Not to mention body size is genetic! If you really care about your health, quit being sheeple and falling for these marketing studies. Research the facts for yourself:
www.bigfatfacts.com