Being a little overweight can kill you, according
to new research that leaves little room for denial
that a few extra pounds is harmful. Baby boomers
who were even just a tad pudgy were more likely
to die prematurely than those who were at a healthy
weight, U.S. researchers reported.
While obesity has been known to contribute to
early death, the link between being overweight
and dying prematurely has been controversial.
Some experts have argued that a few extra pounds
does no harm.
However, this is one of the first major studies
to account for the factors of smoking and chronic
illness, which can complicate efforts to figure
out how much weight itself is responsible for
early death.
"The cumulative evidence is now even stronger,"
said Dr. Michael Thun, chief epidemiologist of
the American Cancer Society
who had no role in the research. "Being overweight
does increase health risks. It's not simply a
cosmetic or social problem."
A separate large study of Korean patients, also
released Tuesday, reached the same conclusion.
Both are being published in this week's
New England Journal of Medicine.
An estimated two-thirds of Americans adults are
overweight or obese, according to federal statistics.
Obesity raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes,
arthritis and some cancers. Being overweight increases
blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which in
turn could lead to heart disease.
The latest studies contradict controversial research
by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention last year that suggested being a little
plump isn't so bad. Since then,
CDC chief Dr. Julie Gerberding distanced
herself from the report and acknowledged potential
flaws in the study that included people with health
problems who tend to weigh less.
The U.S. study, by scientists at the
National Cancer Institute, involved more
than half a million people, ages 50 to 71, participating
in a research project by the
National Institutes
of Health and AARP, formerly known as the
American Association of Retired Persons.
Researchers analyzed patients' body-mass index
and mortality rate over a 10-year period from
questionnaires they filled out in 1995 and 1996
detailing their weight and diet.
Under current government standards, a BMI —
or weight-to-height measurement — of 25 or
higher is overweight; 30 and above is obese.
Generally, you must be 30 pounds overweight be
to considered obese. Using the body-mass index,
a 5-foot-10 man would be considered overweight
if he is between 174 to 208 pounds, and obese
at 209 pounds or more.
Overall, baby boomers who were underweight or
obese had an increased risk of death compared
with normal-weight people. The risk was particularly
high for Hispanics, Asians and American Indians
than for whites and blacks. However, people who
were merely overweight had no substantial increased
risk.
But in a separate analysis of 186,000 healthy
people — who had never smoked — overweight
people were 20 to 40 percent more likely to die
prematurely than normal-weight people. The risk
increased two- to three-fold for obese people.
CDC spokeswoman Karen Hunter declined to comment
on the federal study, saying the public health
agency does not comment on research done by other
government branches.
In a separate study of 1.2 million Korean patients,
ages 30 to 95, researchers from the Yonsei University
in South Korea and
Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of
Public Health reported similar findings.
Among about half a million healthy non-smokers,
overweight people had a 10 to 50 percent greater
risk of dying from heart disease or cancer than
normal-weight people.
The two studies clearly show that being overweight
"is not a benign condition," said Dr. Frank Hu,
an epidemiologist and obesity researcher at the
Harvard School of Public Health.
"The public health message should be loud and
clear: Maintaining a healthy weight and preventing
weight gain in middle age is important to maintaining
longevity," said Hu, who was not connected to
the research.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Tim Byers
of the University of Colorado recommended taking
"small steps toward weight control, such as short
bursts of activity" and changes to diet.
Several years ago, Byers eliminated powdered
doughnuts from his diet and lost 10 pounds. With
a current BMI of just over 27, he looks for other
ways to shed the weight like climbing stairs instead
of taking the elevator to his fourth-floor office.
