NEW DELHI: People who are obese have a 29% increased risk of premature death.
This could come as a wake-up call for 8 million women and 4.4 million men in India who are obese (body mass index of 30 kg/m2).
One of the largest analyses done - 100 studies that included 3 million adults - has found that obesity was associated with a significantly higher all-cause risk of death.
In this meta-analysis that looked at 2.7 lakh deaths that occurred in the US, Europe, Mexico, India, Israel, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, China and Australia, researchers found a 18% higher risk of death for obesity - BMI equal or higher than 30 and a 29% increased risk of death among those whose BMI was higher than 35.
The study says that the presence of a wasting disease, heart disease, diabetes, renal dialysis or older age are all associated with an inverse relationship between BMI and mortality rate, an observation termed the obesity paradox.
Over one in 10 adults, who 20 years and above, are obese globally.
That's over half a billion people (205 million men and 297 million women were obese in 2008).
Researchers say excess bodyweight is an important risk factor for mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and musculoskeletal disorders, causing nearly three million deaths every year worldwide.
While the number of obese men in India increased from 2.3 million to 4.4 million between 1980 and 2008, the number increased from 2.1 million to 8 million among women during the same period
According to the study that was published on the January 2nd issue of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), "Estimates of the relative mortality risks associated with normal weight, overweight and obesity may help to inform decision making in the clinical setting."
Katherine Flegal, of the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted the study to compile and summarize published analyses of body mass index (BMI) and all-cause mortality that provide hazard ratios (HRs) for standard BMI categories.
All-cause mortality HRs for overweight (BMI of 25 and 30), obesity (BMI of 30), grade 1 obesity (BMI of 30-35), and grades 2 and 3 obesity (BMI of 35) were calculated relative to normal weight (BMI of 18.5-25).
The researchers found that the summary HRs indicated a 6% lower risk of death for overweight; a 18% higher risk of death for obesity (all grades), a 5% lower risk of death for grade 1 obesity and a 29% increased risk of death for grades 2 and 3 obesity.
Professor Majid Ezzati from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London had said, "Excess bodyweight is a major public health concern."
Now, India is in the grip of an obesity epidemic. Experts say the trend needs to be immediately arrested by taxing junk food, restricting food ads and making food labelling clearer.
A study that looked at the burden of overweight citizens in six countries - Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa - has found that between 1998 and 2005, India's overweight rates increased by 20%. Currently, almost one in five men and over one in six women are overweight. In some urban areas, the rates are as high as 40%.
Published in the Lancet by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD), the annual cost of broad-based prevention strategies tackling obesity and other health threats, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol, would be less than $2 per person per year in India.
Obesity is the root for several non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Another study in the Lancet predicted that by 2030, nearly 70% of all global deaths will be from non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes, and respiratory and heart disease. Of these 70% of fatalities, 80% will be in less wealthy nations like India.
According to WHO, NCDs - principally cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases - caused an estimated 35 million deaths in 2005. This figure represents 60% of all deaths globally, with 80% of deaths due to noncommunicable diseases occurring in low- and middle-income countries, and approximately 16 million deaths involving people below 70 years.
The total deaths from NCDs are projected to increase by a further 17% over the next 10 years.
Up to 80% of heart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes and over a third of cancers can be prevented by eliminating shared risk factors, mainly tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol.
Obese people at 29% higher risk of premature death
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Obese people at 29% higher risk of premature death
