Is there a link between obesity and life expectancy?

The answer is B. Obesity reduces life expectancy in both men and women. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that obesity adversely affects life expectancy for an adult beginning at the age of 20. Their research was published in the January 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the U.S. Life Tables, researchers calculated the difference between life expectancies of individuals who were obese versus not obese at a given age. Obesity is determined by calculating body mass index. A body mass index between 25 and 29 is considered overweight; an index of 30 or more is considered obese.

The findings, presented by sex and race, estimate that a 20-year-old white male with a body mass index of 45 or more will lose 13 years of life due to obesity. For African-American men of the same age and weight classification, the estimated loss of life is an astounding 20 years. For women, the news is slightly better. A 20-year-old white woman with a body mass index of 45 or more is estimated to lose eight years of life, while an African-American woman is estimated to lose five years.

Physicians trying to motivate obese patients to fight fat can now quantitatively illustrate the adverse effects of being overweight in a way patients can understand instead of warning them vaguely about potential health risks.

Resources:

Read more about the study from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Information about Body Mass Index, including how to calculate yours, from the Centers for Disease Control.