Obesity Found To Be Less Dangerous Than It Was Four Decades Ago

The risk of premature death linked to obesity used to be higher than those linked to people with normal weight, but a new study has revealed that this has greatly decreased over the last 40 years. It used to be higher back in 1976-1978, but this was not the case anymore come 2003-2013.

"The increased risk of all-cause mortality associated with obesity compared to normal weight decreased from 30 percent in 1976-78 to 0 percent in 2003-13," said principal author Dr. Shoaib Afzal via Science Daily. Afzal is from Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark.

Afzal and his team from the University of Copenhagen studied more than 100,000 people. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Study Findings Not A Cue For Obesity

"Importantly, our results should not be interpreted as suggesting that now people can eat as much as they like, or that so-called normal weight individuals should eat more to become overweight," senior author Børge G. Nordestgaard said via Medical News Today. Nordestgaard is a clinical professor at the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen University Hospital.

Current advice, treatment and prevention of obesity do not change because of the study's findings, according to Naveed Sattar. Sattar is a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom. Sattar said that medication helps those living with obesity to deal with complications of being obese, and this helps lower the risk of death. 

Obesity Still Poses Health Risks

News Everyday reported that obesity is still a red flag for health. Obesity is said to be linked to asthma, breathing problems, diabetes, gout, heart disease, hypertension and sleep apnea.

Regular body weight is encouraged through a healthy diet and exercise is recommended. A body mass index of 18.5-24.9 denotes normal or healthy weight, according to Medical News Today.

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