Overweight is the leading cause of premature death. It doubles the number of years of life lost in relation to tobacco.
The phenomenon is often described as a global epidemic. Four in ten adults are overweight and one in seven obese. Overweight continues to rise around the world. So much so that it has become the leading cause of premature death in the United States. This is the conclusion of a team from the New York School of Medicine (United States), which presents its work to the annual congress from the Society of General Internal Medicine. It was held in Washington (DC, United States) from April 19 to 22.
Tobacco, diabetes, hypertension… There are many factors that shorten life expectancy. But obesity remains unmatched. Compared to smoking, obesity increases the number of years of life lost by 47%. A frightening conclusion when we know that smokers have a reduced life expectancy of 8 years on average. In second and third place are diabetes and smoking. High blood pressure and hypercholesterolemia complete the picture.
Avoidable causes
These results confirm it, “behavioral risk factors pose a serious problem on mortality in the United States”, for Glen Taksler, author of the work. Especially since, among the five main causes of premature death, three are easily treatable. Diabetes, hypertension and excess cholesterol can indeed be reduced through lifestyle interventions or medication. Further use of these approaches could therefore improve the balance sheet.
But the researchers stress that the causes of death need to be better informed. “Although we know the direct cause of a patient’s death – breast cancer or a heart attack, for example – we do not always have information on secondary factors, such as tobacco consumption, obesity, alcohol or family history, ”says Dr Taksler. An important precision because the risk factors tend to accumulate. Obese people, for example, often suffer from co-morbidities such as diabetes or hypertension.
On a more positive level, these results nonetheless crown the success of the anti-smoking policy carried out for several decades in the United States. The fall in the number of smokers has reduced the place of this risk factor in the causes of death.
Going to bed at a fixed time reduces the risk of obesity
What time should a child go to bed? The question is recurrent among parents. Ohio State University (USA) is not responding to the clock issue. But she is categorical on one point: fixed bedtime times are associated with a reduced risk of obesity. Children aged 3 who are regular are thus less obese at the age of 11, they observe in theInternational Journal of Obesity. Their study, based on 11,000 young participants in the Millennium Cohort, points out that such habits are beneficial in controlling emotions. However, “we have found that the children who have the most difficulty regulating their emotions at 3 years are the most at risk of obesity at 11 years”, indicates Sarah Anderson, co-author of the work. While bedtime has the biggest impact, limiting screen time and eating regularly are also beneficial measures.
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