An analysis of data of 3,457 participants in the Framingham Heart Study from 1948 to 1990 found that being overweight at middle-age can dramatically shorten life expectancy. Non-smokers who were overweight (but not obese) lost an average of three years from their lives. Obese people die even sooner. Obese female nonsmokers lost an average of 7.1 years, while non-smoking obese men lost 5.8 years. As a risk factor, overweight/obesity ranks as deleterious to life expectancy as smoking.
Fortunately, there is some encouraging news for those who are overweight or obese and are trying to lose weight. They may live longer than those who do not try to shed their excess pounds. In a study of 6,000 obese and overweight people aged thirty-five and older who were followed for nine years, Dr. Edward Gregg of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Georgia) found a 24 percent lower death rate in overweight/obese men and women who lost weight intentionally than in people whose weight remained steady during the course of the study. Even people who were trying to lose weight but did not succeed had a lower death rate. Dr. Gregg suggests that even modest attempts at physical activity and improving diet and nutritional intake could be beneficial even if they do not result with weight loss.
No matter the amount of research that scientists do into anti-aging medicine, no matter how skilled physicians become in using these tools, if people will not turn their own attention to changing their diets for the better, there can be no completely successful cases in the realm of longevity medicine. It’s just that important.
Proper nutrition must be combined with appropriate exercise and necessary anti-aging medicine tools in order to create a fully lived, long, and healthy life.
