4 copies of fat to fit to satyaharinama prabhu ok.

August 25, 2006

Those few extra kilos may be all it takes

Rob Stein in Washington

August 24, 2006

BAD news for baby boomers starting to pile on the kilos as they go through

middle age: you don't have to be obese - just a little overweight - to

increase your risk of dying prematurely.

A 10-year study of more than 500,000 American adults found that those who

were just slightly overweight in their 50s were 20 to 40 per cent more

likely to die in the next 10 years.

Another study involving more than 1 million Korean adults, also being

published in The New England Journal of Medicine this week, produced similar

results.

The studies were aimed at helping resolve a long debate over whether the

millions of people who are not obese but are nevertheless considered

overweight are at significant risk.

"A substantial proportion of the population in the US is overweight," said

Michael Leitzmann, of the National Cancer Institute, which led the US study.

"So if overweight is related to premature death, that's very important to

public health."

The findings are particularly relevant to the large number of baby boomers

who are going through a critical period of middle age when people typically

gain weight.

The findings were welcomed by public health and obesity experts, but

sceptics remained unconvinced, saying the analysis was flawed and would

alarm people unnecessarily.

"I think they are just adding to the obesity hysteria," said Glenn Gaesser,

of the University of Virginia. "They are presenting the data in a way that

paints overweight and obesity in the worst possible light."

About two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including about a third who

are obese.

Recommended Posts