Obesity May Not Shorten Your Life, Study Claims

A recent study conducted by Danish researchers analyzed the deaths of 110,000 Danes. As per the study findings, the risk of overweight/obese people is no more than the people who have normal body weight.

"In addition to obesity-related early death risk dropping to normal-weight levels, the team found that the BMI level linked to the lowest rate of all-cause early death had gone up by more than three units, rising from 23.7 in the 1970s to 27 in 2013," US News reports. BMI (Body Mass Index) of 27 is categorized as being overweight.

When the BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, the body weight is considered normal. People with BMI between 25 to 29.9 are categorized as overweight and those who fall above BMI of 30 are considered as obese.

"But we don't know what's cause and what's effect," Dr. Borge Nordestgaard, study author and University of Copenhagen clinical professor, said. "And we only looked at the hardest endpoint, which is longevity, not quality of life."

Simply put, overweight/obese people may have longer lifecycle but they might also contract several diseases and health disorders as they live. The only difference today is that now there are advanced treatments available for diseases and symptoms associated with obesity.

Even though obesity may not have a direct link to the lifespan, it does attract several health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, gout, sleep apnea, asthma, breathing problems etc.

This is why it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to maintain regular bodyweight through exercise and healthy diet.