March 18, 2009 Wednesday

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 12

LENGTH: 289 words

BYLINE: Kate Devlin Medical Correspondent

BODY: 

 

BEING four stone overweight can cut three years off a person's life, according to a study. Severely obese people can lose 10 years, researchers found, the same effect as long-term smoking.

 

Almost one in four people in Britain is now obese, official statistics show, and experts predict that the problem will grow in coming decades. The latest research looked at a number of studies of the effect of weight on the lifespan of almost 900,000 men and women.

 

It found that those with a "normal'' weight, a Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 22.5 and 25 - calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared - had the lowest death rates over the eight-year period of the studies. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or more.

 

For every five points above a healthy weight, overall risk of death increased by almost one third, 30 per cent, the study found. Jumping an entire five-point BMI band caused death rates from diabetes, liver and kidney disease to increase by between 60 and 120 per cent. Deaths from heart disease and stroke rose by 40 per cent and those from lung disease and cancer by 20 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

 

Dr Gary Whitlock, of Oxford University, who led the trial, said: "In countries like Britain and America, weighing a third more than the optimum shortens lifespan by about three years. For most people, a third more than the optimum means carrying 20 to 30kg - 50 to 60 pounds or 4 stone - of excess weight.''

 

He and his team looked at 57 previous studies. Those with a low BMI also had a higher death rate, mainly due to smoking-related diseases. The research, published online by The Lancet, showed that severe obesity, a BMI of between 40 to 50, while rare, was as dangerous as smoking.

LOAD-DATE: March 18, 2009