Being very obese (BMI 35+) shortens lifespan in men 20- to 39-years-old by 8.4 years

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Saturday, December 06, 2014 2:10 pm Email this article

Being very obese (BMI of 35+) is estimated to shorten lifespan in men 20-39 years-old by an average of 8.4 years when compared to those with an ideal BMI of 18-25 according to a new study from researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Excess Weight vs Age

Excess weight causes largest years of life lost in younger people

“The effect of excess weight on years of life lost was greatest for young individuals and decreased with increasing age,” the authors of the paper note.

Healthy-Life Years Lost

Healthy-life years lost 2-4 times more than total years of life lost

“Healthy life-years lost were two to four times higher than total years of life lost for all age groups and bodyweight categories.”

Subjects

Subjects: 3994 white people

The study looked at data from 3992 non-Hispanic white people from the (U.S.) National Nutrition and Examination Survey (2003-10).

Reference

Grover SA, Kaouache M, Rempel P,Lawrence Joseph Dawes M, Lau DCW, and Lowensteyn I. Years of life lost and healthy life-years lost from diabetes and cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese people: a modelling study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol, 2014 Dec 5; Early Online Publication.

The paper is posted here.

Author’s Contact Info

Steven Grover, MD
Research Institute
McGill University Health Centre
Montreal, QC H3A 1A1, Canada
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• Mortality associated with obesity