STUDY WARNS WEIGHT GAIN 'SIGNIFICANT' IN CUTTING LIFE EXPECTANCY

By Jane Kirby
Press Association Health Correspondent


Putting on weight into middle age cuts the chance of living a long and healthy life by around 80%, researchers warned today. Obesity is a "significant factor" in predicting how long a person will live, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
 Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, and the University of Warwick in Coventry analyzed data gathered since 1976 from more than 17,000 female nurses living in 11 US states.
 They found that women who were obese in middle age had 79% lower odds of healthy survival compared with women who kept their weight at a healthy level.
 The study also found that putting on weight from the age of 18 until middle age was a predictor of how long women would live in good health.
 For every 1kg increase in weight gain since age 18, the odds of healthy survival decreased by 5%, the researchers said.
 Women who were overweight at age 18 and gained 10kg of weight to middle age had particularly low survival - reduced by 82% - compared with women who were lean and maintained a stable weight.
 Obesity was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) over 30, while lean women had a BMI of 18.5 to 22.9.
 At the start of the study, nurses filled in questionnaires on their lifestyles, weight and height and history of disease.
 They were questioned again every two years for more than a 20-year period, providing updates on their health as well as weight and current lifestyle.
 Any reported illnesses were checked against medical records and other data.
 The experts classed people as healthy if they reached the age of 70 or older while being free from major chronic diseases and associated surgery: cancer, diabetes, heart attack, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
 The experts also determined that to be "healthy", they should have no major limitation on the use of their body and have good mental health.
 The authors concluded: "In summary, this study provides new evidence that greater adiposity at mid-life is a strong risk factor predicting a lower probability of healthy survival among older women.
 "In addition, our data suggests that weight maintenance throughout adulthood might be associated with optimal overall health at older ages."