People with morbid obesity have a shortened life expectancy. They lose between 6.5 and 14 years of life depending on their BMI.
Morbid obesity greatly reduces life expectancy. A meta-analysis, published on July 8 in PLOS Medicine, shows that an obese person (with a Body Mass Index greater than 30) lives less than a person with a normal BMI (18.5-24.9). The higher the BMI of these people, the more their risk of dying young increases.
6.5 to 14 years younger
This meta-analysis reviews 20 large studies from Australia, the United States and Sweden. The researchers classified the participants according to their BMI; in the group of obese people, 3 categories were drawn: “mild” obesity (30-34.9), obesity (35-39.9) and “morbid” obesity (40 or more). “While it was a relatively rare disease, extreme obesity is on the rise. In the United States, for example, 6% of adults are now considered morbidly obese which, for an average person, corresponds to more than 45 kg above the recommended weight ”, specifies Cari Kitahara, principal author of the study. “Before our study, little was known about the risk of premature death associated with morbid obesity. “
The conclusions of the analysis send shivers down the spine: a person with morbid obesity is more likely to die young than a person with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or kidney or liver disease. Participants, whose BMI ranged between 40 and 44.9, lost an average of 6.5 years of life. When the BMI was between 55 and 55.9, there was an average of 14 years less life. Most often, cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes were the cause of these premature deaths.
The “delay” effect of a healthy lifestyle
Another recent study, published in Preventive Medicine, underlined the impact of a healthy lifestyle on longevity. An unbalanced diet or too little exercise each increases the risk of premature death by 15%. “The effect of each individual factor on life expectancy is relatively high,” commented Eva Martin-Diener, lead author of the study. But what is most pernicious, according to the authors of this study, is the “delay” effect associated with a poor lifestyle. The emergence of chronic diseases linked to eating or physical habits does not appear around 45-55 years old, but rather between 65 and 75 years old… when it is too late to act.
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