Does Obesity Reduce Life Expectancy?

Various studies have shown that obesity reduces life expectancy. This data is worrying if one takes into account that in recent years the number of obese or overweight people in the world has increased significantly.

Obesity has long been known to cause cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. The OECD -Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development- estimates that by the year 2050 there could be 95 million premature deaths due to excessive body weight.

According to the estimates of that organization, Mexico is the country that will suffer the most severe reduction in life expectancy due to obesity. They are followed, in order, by Russia, Poland, the United States, Japan and India. Today, one in four people is obese.

Obesity reduces life expectancy

Currently, obesity is seen as a global epidemic that does not stop growing. It is believed that around 1.9 billion adults in the world suffer from this condition, while about 340 million children and adolescents suffer from it.

Obesity, by itself, becomes a risk factor for disease. Among them we can highlight the following, which, in turn, are closely related to each other:

• Type 2 diabetes : Currently, eight out of 10 people with diabetes are also overweight or obese.
• Hypertension : it is a common disease in people with excessive weight.
• Heart disease: includes different conditions of the heart, several of them with risk of death.
• Stroke: Hypertension is your main risk factor.
• Sleep apnea – Increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
• Metabolic syndrome : It comprises a set of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

• Fatty liver disease – Increases the risk of severe liver damage, cirrhosis, or liver failure.
• Osteoarthritis : Weight puts pressure on the joints and cartilage.
• Gallbladder problems: There is an increased risk of developing gallstones and cholecystitis.
• Kidney disease : obesity encourages and accelerates kidney disease.
• Problems during pregnancy : obese mothers are at higher risk of complications during pregnancy.
• Cancer: Some types of cancer have been associated with being overweight and obese.

Revealing studies

A study in the FMC journal published in 2013 showed the results of a 40-year follow-up of 3 457 people with obesity, of whom 1 550 were men and 1 907 women. All of them began to study when they were between 30 and 49 years old.

The research concluded that obesity reduces life expectancy. It indicates that men lose about 5.3 years of life and women, 7.1 years. If these people also smoked, the loss reached 6.7 years in men and 7.2 in women.

Another study conducted by the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI), published in 2014 in the journal PLOS Medicine , concluded that people who are more than 100 pounds overweight live between 6.5 and 13.7 years younger than those of normal weight.

The OECD report

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -OECD- presented a report in 2019 according to which, the mere fact of being overweight reduces life expectancy by approximately three to four years. In this case, they do not speak of obese people, but only of those who are overweight.

The report also noted that three out of five obese people live in rich countries. Among them are the figures for the United States, where approximately 40% of adults and 20% of children have excessive body weight. In turn, in the United Kingdom three out of five people are overweight.

The OECD draws attention to the fact that 50% of people in the world have an unhealthy diet. Two out of five people do not eat enough fruits and vegetables; In addition, one in three people does not do enough physical activity.

This organization warned that, if this situation is not changed, in the next 30 years 60% of new cases of diabetes will be caused by obesity, as well as 18% of cardiovascular diseases, 11% of dementias and 8 % of different types of cancer.