Extra Pounds Can Cost You Years
Research proves that obesity shortens lifespan
We all know that being overweight isn't good for your health, but we all wonder just how bad it is. Well, new research shows that obesity shortens the average lifespan by several years.
Instead of height/weight charts, health experts now refer to body mass index, or BMI.
- A healthy BMI is between 18-25.
- Overweight is defined as a BMI between 25-30.
- Obese is defined as a BMI above 30.
- Morbid obesity is a BMI above 40.
- Want to calculate your BMI?
We learned recently that about one-third of Americans are overweight, and another one-third are obese. This study found that obesity shortens a person's lifespan by an average of three years, while being morbidly obese costs a person an average of 10 years.
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March 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
What’s interesting is that the study found an increase in ALL causes of death. It’s not just that weight ups your heart attack risk — it ups every just about every single possible health risk!
March 25th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
The longest lives were for people with a BMI of 22-25 — that’s on the heavier side of the normal healthy range!
So being skinny doesn’t necessarily lengthen your life…