According to one 2001 study, just being overweight increased the risk for developing diabetes, gallstones, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and colon cancer. The risk rose according to how much the individuals were overweight. In any case, adults who are overweight in middle age face a poor quality of life as they age, with the quality declining the greater the weight. (One study suggested, however, that being over 65 and overweight but not obese is not associated with any higher mortality rates).
Some experts argue, in fact, that in anyone who is not severely obese, it is the unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle that causes harm--not weight per se. In support of this argument, a British study found that overweight fit individuals had half the death rate of unfit trim individuals.
Being somewhat overweight may also have some benefits under specific circumstances:
- In older women, some excess fat may produce extra estrogen that helps slow down bone loss and insulates bones from fall-related injuries. (It should be strongly noted, however, that when older overweight women lose weight they report improved vitality, physical function, and less pain.) The same positive effect of overweight does not appear to hold in older men.
- Conditioned athletes may have high BMIs because of very dense muscle tissue. Being fit in general may protect many overweight people.
- Some evidence suggests that Caucasians have the lowest mortality with BMIs of 24.3 to 24.7 while African Americans are better off in the range of 26.8 to 27.1.
- Children may have higher normal fat levels during growth spurts and around puberty.
Heart Disease and Stroke
Individuals with a BMI of at least 30 have a 50 - 100% increased risk for death compared with individuals at a BMI of 20 to 25. Mortality rates from many causes are higher in obese people, but heart disease is the primary cause of death. People who are obese have almost three times the risk for heart disease as people with normal weights. Being physically unfit adds to the risk.
Weight concentrated around the abdomen and in the upper part of the body (apple shape) is particularly associated with insulin resistance and diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. Fat that settles in a pear shape around the hips and lower body appears to have a lower association with these conditions.
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