OXFORD, England, Mar 18, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Severe obesity can shorten a
life by up to 10 years -- comparable with the effects of lifelong smoking,
British researchers said.
A review of nearly 60 long-term studies involving almost 1 million people
worldwide, led by researchers at the Clinical Trial Service Unit at Oxford
University, found moderate obesity shortens life expectancy by up to 4 years.
Researchers brought together the results of 57 prospective studies that tracked
about 895,000 people, most in Europe and North America, over an average of 10 to
15 years. During that time about 100,000 of them died, making this the largest
investigation of how obesity affects mortality, Medical News Today reported.
The researchers used body mass index to assess obesity. Moderate obesity is
having a BMI of 30 to 35, and severe obesity is having a BMI of 40 to 50. The
results showed that rates of death were lowest among men and women whose BMI was
23 to 24 -- or a person who is 5-foot-7 and weighs about 154 pounds.
"Continuing to smoke is as dangerous as doubling your body weight, and three
times as dangerous as moderate obesity," Richard Peto of Oxford University said
in a statement.
"Changing your diet but keeping on smoking is not the way to increase lifespan."
The findings are published in The Lancet.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International