Extreme Obesity Proven to Shorten Lives

News Flash – Obesity is a Killer

Recent studies show that extremely obese people, those who are more than 80 pounds over a normal weight, can expect to live three to 12 fewer years than their normal-weight peers. Sadly enough, this is not shocking news. Unfortunately however, we have known the dire effects of obesity for quite some time and still, the number of overweight individuals in the United States continues to rise each year.

While these studies showed little to no effect on life span of those who are overweight or moderately obese, we should all recognize by now that the effects of being overweight or unfit do in fact have consequences, including much higher health care costs.

Overall, about 66% of adults in the USA are either overweight or obese. About one-third of people are in the obese category, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or greater. Body mass index, or BMI, is a measure based on height and weight. About 6% of people are extremely obese — that is, they have a BMI of 40 or greater.

Economists with RTI International, a non-profit research organization in Research Triangle Park, N.C., analyzed national data on 366,000 people. Among the findings being published online in the journal Obesity:

•Overall, excess weight was responsible for the loss of roughly 95 million years of life in the USA in 2008.

•Non-smokers who are obese — those who are about 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — have a shorter life span by a year or less.

•Non-smokers who are overweight — about 29 pounds over a healthy weight — do not have shortened lives.

•Smoking takes a toll, too, and very heavy smokers are affected most. An 18-year-old white male who is normal weight and does not smoke can expect to live to age 81. If he’s extremely obese and a smoker, his life expectancy is 60, a difference of 21 years.

The effect of extreme obesity appears to be greater for men than women and for whites than blacks, says Derek Brown, a health economist with RTI International and co-author of the study.

Lead author Eric Finkelstein says being moderately overweight may not affect people’s life span because there are so many effective treatments to manage the health problems that often come with extra pounds, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.

For instance, of the top 25 most prescribed medications, 10 target high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, he says.

Finkelstein and obesity experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have conducted additional research that shows the high medical costs of extra pounds. They recently published a study that showed obese Americans cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double the amount a decade ago.

Obesity now accounts for 9.1% of all medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998, they found. Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.

Did we really need yet another study to remind us that we need to do a better job of managing our weight and making our physical fitness a priority? Sadly enough, yes! We probably did and so many will ignore this research as well. Please don’t be one of them…..

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