Released: August 23, 2006

Even a few extra pounds can kill

Source: By Nanci Hellmich, USA Today

Baby-boomers beware: Even being a little overweight at age 50 increases your chances of premature death, a large new study reveals.

Past research has shown that being obese, roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight, increases the risk of premature death. But scientists have debated whether being overweight, one pound to 29 pounds over a normal weight, is linked to early death.

To investigate this, researchers with the National Cancer Institute examined the lifestyle habits of more than 527,000 men and women, ages 50 to 71, who were members of AARP. Participants completed surveys, including giving their weight and height. Researchers also looked at participants’ death records over 10 years. Findings in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine:

• People who were overweight at 50 had a 20% to 40% higher risk of death than normal-weight people.
• Those who were obese had 100% to 200% higher risk of death.

“Even carrying a few extra pounds is associated with increased risk of dying prematurely,” says Michael F. Leitzmann, senior author of the study.

Obesity was strongly associated with death in both men and women in all racial and ethnic groups and at all ages, he says.

Meir Stampfer of the Harvard School of Public Health, who was not involved in the research, says the study shows “in a very convincing and clear way that being overweight is bad for you. When you get in the obese range, the risk of death goes up substantially.”

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