Every excess pound raises risk

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From the Dec 2010 issue of New England J of Medicine: sobering stats

Every Excess Pound Gained Raises Risk of Death

Steady Rise in Death Risk as Overweight/Obesity Increases

By J. DeNoon

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by J. , MDDec. 1, 2010 -- Your risk of

death rises steadily with every overweight pound you gain, a huge study funded

by the National Institutes of Health confirms.

Even if you don't smoke and are in otherwise good health, your risk of death

goes up 31% with every 5-point increase in BMI, a measure of body mass based on

weight and height.

Just being a little bit overweight increases death risk. Compared to those with

a normal-range BMI of 22.5 to 24.9:

A BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 increased death risk by 13%

A BMI of 30.0 to 34.9 increased death risk by 44%

A BMI of 35.0 to 39.9 increased death risk by 88%

A BMI of 40.0 to 49.9 increased death risk by 251%

Those figures are for women who do not smoke and who have no underlying disease.

The risks are similar for men, note Amy Berrington de , DPhil, of the

National Institutes of Health, and colleagues.

" We conclude that for non-Hispanic whites, both overweight and obesity are

associated with increased all-cause mortality, " they conclude. " All-cause

mortality is generally lowest within the BMI range of 20.0 to 24.9. "

BMI measured before age 50 had the strongest effect on death risk.

Being underweight may also increase death risk, but it's not clear whether

underlying, undetected disease might account for this finding.

The study pooled data from 19 long-term studies that followed 1.46 million white

adults for five to 28 years.

The strong statistical significance of the findings suggest that an earlier

study of the impact of obesity on death risk -- which was scary enough -- may

have underestimated the problem. That study found that adult obesity cut life

expectancy by four years. The new data show that obesity has a much greater

effect on life span.

" In our study, there were more than five times as many deaths among participants

in the highest obesity categories (BMI of 35-0 to 39.9 and 40.0 to 49.9) than in

previous studies, because severe obesity had become more common, " Berrington de

and colleagues note.

Smoking and chronic disease have an enormous effect on death risk. To isolate

the effects of obesity, the researchers calculated death risk for nonsmokers who

reported no underlying disease.