The Netherlands Epidemiology and Demography Compression of Morbidity Research Group has published an important medical research paper in the Jan. 7, 2003 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine (Ann Intern Med 2003;138:24-32).
The lead researcher, Dr. Anna Peeters, explained that the group has revisited the Framingham Heart Study 40 years later and analyzed survival statistics of the group of men and women who enrolled in this longterm study between 1948 and 1951. The population at the beginning of the study was aged between 30 and 49. The snap shot, after 40 years had elapsed, is the subject of this analysis. In order to make it easier to understand, I have tabulated the data as seen below.
This study shows that life style choices do matter: being overweight shortens your life by 3 years on average, being obese shortens it by 6 to 7 years.
Add the risk of smoking, and you end up shortening your life by 7 years in the case of being overweight (4 years more than without smoking) or more than 13 years, if you are obese.
Framingham Study…Obesity And Smoking Lead To Loss Of Life
This study was based on 3,457 participants who 40 years ago had a life expectancy of 85 years, if they were in the normal weight category and did not smoke.
The death rates were much higher than the researchers expected. The researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam stated as a conclusion: ” just think about two things: Don’t get fat and don’t smoke”.
| Years of life lost 40 years after Framingham Heart Study Was Started: | |||||
| Non-smokers: | Smokers: | ||||
| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
| overweight *: | 3.1 | 3.3 | overweight*: | 6.7 | 7.2 |
| obese** : | 5.8 | 7.1 | obese ** : | 13.7 | 13.3 |
| * overweight:BMI = 25 to 29.9 | ** obese:BMI = 30 and higher | ||||
Here are some links to my Internet based Healthbook regarding risks for heart attacks and strokes:
Heart disease: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_heartdisease.php
Strokes: http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/cardiovasculardisease_strokeandcerebralaneurysm.php
Two things will lead to a normal weight (as you likely have heard before):
Proper nutrition…
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/nutrition.php
…and proper exercise (fitness):
http://www.nethealthbook.com/articles/fitness.php
Last edited December 10, 2012
About Ray Schilling
