Obesity affects men more than women, says study
Posted on: 21/Jul/2016 9:38:27 AM
A study published in the journal the Lancet has said that men who have excess weight can die earlier. The study claims that the excess risk of premature death, that is before age 70, among those who are overweight or obese is about three times as great in men as in women. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge.
The study comprised of 3.9 million adults. It found that being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of premature death as the risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and cancer are all increased.
Speaking about this, the researchers said, On average, overweight people lose about one year of life expectancy, and moderately obese people lose about three years of life expectancy. We also found that men who were obese were at much higher risk of premature death than obese women. This is consistent with previous observations that obese men have greater insulin resistance, liver fat levels, and diabetes risk than women.
Researchers found an increased risk of premature death for people who were underweight, as well as for people classed as overweight. The risk increased steadily and steeply as BMI increased. Where the risk of death before age 70 would be 19 per cent and 11 per cent for men and women with a normal BMI, the study found that it would be 29.5 per cent and 14.6 per cent for moderately obese men and women, those with a BMI of 30-35. This corresponds to an absolute increase of 10.5 per cent for men, and 3.6 per cent for women - three times as big. The authors defined premature deaths as those at ages 35-69 years.
Say the researchers, Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of premature death in Europe and North America. Smoking causes about a quarter of all premature deaths in Europe and in North America, and smokers can halve their risk of premature death by stopping. But, overweight and obesity now cause about 1 in 7 of all premature deaths in Europe and 1 in 5 of all premature deaths in North America.
