Being fat 'is as bad as smoking'

[JoeZhang]

Being overweight or seriously underweight as a teenager curbs life expectancy as much as smoking 10 cigarettes a day, a study suggests.


Swedish researchers followed 46,000 men from the age of 18 for 38 years.
Being obese or smoking more than 10 a day doubled the premature death risk, the British Medical Journal reported.
Being overweight, seriously underweight or smoking 10 or less raised it by 30% - and interestingly the fat non-smoker ran the same risk as the fat smoker.

Those who were underweight - with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18.5 - had no increased risk of dying early, regardless of whether they smoked or not. But the team from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that those who were seriously underweight - with a BMI of 17 or less - ran the same risk as those who were overweight. They looked at 45,920 men born between 1949 and 1951 who were military conscripts. In this period as few as 3% of Swedish men were exempt from military service.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7908575.stm

 

[An Officer]

And they had to pay a team to work this out?

 

[TheLonelySquire]

Being overweight or seriously underweight as a teenager curbs life expectancy as much as smoking 10 cigarettes a day, a study suggests.


Swedish researchers followed 46,000 men from the age of 18 for 38 years.
Being obese or smoking more than 10 a day doubled the premature death risk, the British Medical Journal reported.
Being overweight, seriously underweight or smoking 10 or less raised it by 30% - and interestingly the fat non-smoker ran the same risk as the fat smoker.

Those who were underweight - with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18.5 - had no increased risk of dying early, regardless of whether they smoked or not. But the team from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that those who were seriously underweight - with a BMI of 17 or less - ran the same risk as those who were overweight. They looked at 45,920 men born between 1949 and 1951 who were military conscripts. In this period as few as 3% of Swedish men were exempt from military service.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7908575.stm

I have a hankerin for a McDonald's breakfast!

 

[RoJoHen]

I'm pretty sure this is not new information.

 

[JoeZhang]

What I find interesting is that the study is not about being fat - it's about being outside of normal ranges - so underweight is just as problematical - yet the headline makes it sound like it's all about being fat.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, being overweight is a bigger epidemic than being underweight, I would imagine.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Those who were underweight - with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of less than 18.5 - had no increased risk of dying early, regardless of whether they smoked or not.

Wait, so if you have a BMI of under 18.5, but it seems over 17, then smoking does not make you at risk of dieing early?

 

[Deckerd]

Only up to the age of 38 years.

 

[Rii]

So far as I'm aware there's no such thing as secondhand fat, though.

 

[JoeZhang]

So far as I'm aware there's no such thing as secondhand fat, though.

There is if you travel coach on airlines...

 

[T'Baio]

So now that we have stated scientific fact that fatness is unhealthy, is this still going to be closed?

It's fact, people! Get used to it.

 

[T'Bonz]

There's nothing wrong with stating that being fat is unhealthy. It's when it turns to nasty little comments that a thread becomes a problem.

I was reading something in Time Magazine last night where they said that after age 40, having a little extra weight makes one look younger than if one is thin. Also - not having been out in the sun too much (avoiding the leathery skin,) and not having smoked makes one look younger.

 

[JonathonWally]

I was reading something in Time Magazine last night where they said that after age 40, having a little extra weight makes one look younger than if one is thin. Also - not having been out in the sun too much (avoiding the leathery skin,) and not having smoked makes one look younger.

What's the point in living forever if you're not gonna have any fun?

I'd rather live 50-60 awesome crazy years than 100 really boring ones.

 

[Amaris]

I was reading something in Time Magazine last night where they said that after age 40, having a little extra weight makes one look younger than if one is thin. Also - not having been out in the sun too much (avoiding the leathery skin,) and not having smoked makes one look younger.

What's the point in living forever if you're not gonna have any fun?

I'd rather live 50-60 awesome crazy years than 100 really boring ones.

Somehow I'm going to find a way to live 100 really awesome crazy years.
I need them to make up for life up to this point.

J.

 

[DarkHelmet]

I was reading something in Time Magazine last night where they said that after age 40, having a little extra weight makes one look younger than if one is thin. Also - not having been out in the sun too much (avoiding the leathery skin,) and not having smoked makes one look younger.

What's the point in living forever if you're not gonna have any fun?

I'd rather live 50-60 awesome crazy years than 100 really boring ones.

That presupposes that one thinks baking in the sun and smoking cigarettes is fun.

 

[Amaris]

On my 80th birthday, I'm going to celebrate. I'll have a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, having sex with a lot of women all at once, and snorting coke off of the stomachs of cheerleaders while the Edgar Winter group plays "Frankenstein" in the background.

J.

 

[JonathonWally]

On my 80th birthday, I'm going to celebrate. I'll have a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, having sex with a lot of women all at once, and snorting coke off of the stomachs of cheerleaders while the Edgar Winter group plays "Frankenstein" in the background.

J.

It was only 1 girl, catholic school girl outfit and not cheerleader, I wasn't 80, and I honestly can't remember what music was playing, otherwise...

 

[Pingfah]

On my 80th birthday, I'm going to celebrate. I'll have a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, having sex with a lot of women all at once, and snorting coke off of the stomachs of cheerleaders while the Edgar Winter group plays "Frankenstein" in the background.

J.

Edgar Winter will be about 120 years old by then

 

[Amaris]

On my 80th birthday, I'm going to celebrate. I'll have a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, having sex with a lot of women all at once, and snorting coke off of the stomachs of cheerleaders while the Edgar Winter group plays "Frankenstein" in the background.

J.

It was only 1 girl, catholic school girl outfit and not cheerleader, I wasn't 80, and I honestly can't remember what music was playing, otherwise...

Well, that's one more girl than me, and I'm 29 in March, so you're off to a good start.

Edgar Winter will be about 120 years old by then

Edgar Winter's an albino. They have magical aging powers.

J.

 

[JonathonWally]

On my 80th birthday, I'm going to celebrate. I'll have a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other, having sex with a lot of women all at once, and snorting coke off of the stomachs of cheerleaders while the Edgar Winter group plays "Frankenstein" in the background.

J.

It was only 1 girl, catholic school girl outfit and not cheerleader, I wasn't 80, and I honestly can't remember what music was playing, otherwise...

Well, that's one more girl than me, and I'm 29 in March, so you're off to a good start.



J.

Ouch.

At least you have good taste in partying though.