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How Does Weight Affect Length of Life?
 Many
women are most interested in the simple bottom-line question: how does my weight
affect my overall risk of dying prematurely? Even though some of the details of
the relationship between weight and premature death are still being debated by
researchers, the answer in general is clear - being overweight or obese
increases the risk of premature death.
Weight: Weighing the Risks
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Weight
Compared to lean women, obese women have a:
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Very high excess risk of diabetes and hypertension
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High excess risk of coronary heart disease, stroke,
endometrial cancer, gallstones, pulmonary embolism, and reduced
quality of life
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Moderately excess risk of premature death, breast cancer (Postmenopause),
colon cancer, kidney stones, and high blood cholesterol
Weight Gain
Compared to women whose weight has remained relatively stable in
adulthood, those who have gained thirty pounds or more have a:
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Very high excess risk of diabetes
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High excess risk of stroke, hypertension, and endometrial
cancer
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Moderately excess risk of coronary heart disease
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Small excess risk of breast cancer (Postmenopause)
Waist Size
 Compared
to women with small waists, women with waist sizes of thirty-five
inches or more have a:
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Very high excess risk of diabetes
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High excess risk of coronary heart disease.
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Obese women have a greatly increased risk of premature death compared to the
lean women. Much of this increase seemed to be due to deaths from cancer and
coronary heart disease. The obese women are twice as likely to die from
cancer and four times more likely to die from coronary heart disease than their
leaner counterparts.
Gaining weight in adulthood also increased risk of premature death. Women who
have put on twenty-two pounds or more since age eighteen, regardless of their
starting weight, are at an increase risk of premature death compared to women
whose weight had stayed steady over the same time period. Women who gain more
than forty-five pounds are at the highest risk- 60 percent greater than women
whose weight continues to remain steady.
 In
a Nurses Health Study, it was found that all women in the healthy weight range
who had maintained a stable weight had very similar low rates of premature
death. Smoking and undiagnosed disease (such as cancer), which are linked to
leanness as well as to an increased risk of premature death, can complicate the
weight and premature death. In the Nurses' Health Study, when smoking and
undiagnosed disease was taken into account, it was found that the risk of
dying prematurely was low for all women in the healthy weight range and
increased steadily in the overweight and obese.
Women who are extremely underweight can experience a number of health problems,
including osteoporosis, fatigue, and menstrual and reproductive disorders.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
 Although
the details of the individual studies can seem confusing at times, the general
conclusion about the link between weight and health is very basic: carrying
excessive weight and gaining weight as an adult is generally bad for health.
The evidence also shows, though, that the achievable goals of avoiding
significant weight gain as you age and losing a modest amount of weight (if you
are overweight) can have significant health benefits.
Reference used:
1) Healthy Women, Healthy lives. A Harvard Medical School Book.
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