- A study found no link between being overweight and a higher risk of death.
- However, there was a higher risk of death for those who were obese or overweight.
- A co-author of the study stated that a person’s BMI doesn’t always indicate their overall health.
According to a study, being overweight based on body mass index (BMI) does not increase the risk of death, while being underweight or obese does.
BMI is determined by dividing a person’s weight in pounds by the square of their height in meters. It is commonly used to assess the risk of developing certain health conditions associated with weight.
For adults, a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy, 25 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30 or higher is obese.
Traditionally, a higher BMI is associated with a greater risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other conditions. However, the medical community has debated the effectiveness of BMI as a measure of overall health for years.
As previously reported, the American Medical Association acknowledges the limitations of using BMI alone to assess health risk and suggests incorporating other indicators such as body composition, waist circumference, and genetic factors.
No increased risk of death for overweight individuals in the study
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, examined the relationship between BMI and mortality using data from 554,332 American adults obtained from the 1999-2018 National Health Interview Survey and the 2019 US National Death Index.
BMI was calculated using participants’ height and weight, and researchers analyzed the relationship between BMI levels and causes of death over a 20-year period.
The results showed no significant increase in mortality risk for individuals aged over 65 with a BMI between 22.5 and 34.9, falling within the overweight and obese categories. The same was true for younger adults with BMIs between 22.5 and 27.4, indicating they were overweight.
Aayush Visaria, a co-author of the study and an internal medicine resident at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, told NBC, “Our results confirm existing studies that have shown BMI alone is not a reliable indicator of health risk, although our study is on a larger scale.”
However, Dr. Adam Jacobs, senior director of biostatistical science at clinical research organization Premier Research and not involved in the study, suggested that the lower mortality risk for overweight older adults may be due to a “healthy survivor bias.”
He explained, “In other words, obese individuals who would be at a significantly higher risk of mortality may not be included in the study as they would likely have died earlier.”
Overall, both men and women of all races and ethnicities with a BMI of 30 or higher, indicating obesity, had a 21% to 108% increased risk of death. Additionally, those with a BMI of less than 18.5, classified as underweight, also had a higher risk of death.
This reflects the “U-shaped” relationship between BMI and mortality, where individuals at the extreme ends of the BMI scale face the highest risk.
However, experts note that the risk of death may be an irrelevant measure if a person’s quality of life is poor. Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in cardiovascular and metabolic health at the University of Glasgow, UK, who was not involved in the study, stated, “We know from other evidence that the higher our weight, the greater the risks of developing multiple conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, and heart failure. These conditions, in turn, have a negative impact on people’s quality of life and happiness.”
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