Obesity Paradox Explained

An analysis of individual level pooled data from 10 prospective cohort studies concluded that obesity is associated with earlier onset of heart failure (HF), increased risk of HF; and greater proportion of life lived with HF in the context of shorter total longevity. A total of 170,205 adults free from HF at baseline were included, with at least 10 years of follow-up and adjudication for HF events. In 72,490 middle-aged adults (index age 40–59 years), there were 4,614 diagnoses of incident HF. Compared with adults with normal BMI, overweight or obese adults developed HF at a younger age and had higher lifetime risk for incident HF. Among all obese men and women, there was earlier onset of HF by 2.6 and 4.2 years and greater number of years lived with HF by 0.7 and 0.8 years, respectively. However, individuals with obesity had a shorter overall survival by 1.9 and 3.4 years in men and women, respectively, compared with normal BMI. Similar patterns were observed in younger and older adults. The findings stress the importance of maintaining ideal body weight for greater and healthier longevity across the life course. Source: http://www.onlinejcf.com/