Women who put on weight as they approach middle age could reduce their chances of enjoying a healthy old age by up to 80 percent, according to research from the University of Warwick.
The study, published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal, suggests that women who have a high body mass index in middle age are significantly more likely to suffer from major chronic diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease and poor quality of life.
Dr. Oscar Franco, assistant clinical professor of public health at Warwick Medical School collaborated on the paper with researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
The research team found that, for every 2.2 pounds gained in weight since the age of 18, the odds of healthy survival into old age decreased by 5 percent.
They also found that women who were overweight at age 18 and continued to gain weight as they grew older were most at risk of developing a major chronic disease. Obese women had 79 percent lower odds of aging without developing a chronic disease.
The research team used the Nurses' Health Study, which has gathered data from more than 120,000 female registered nurses living in 11 states since 1976. Follow-up questionnaires have been sent out every two years to update information on disease incidence and lifestyle factors.
Study participants who had reached the age of 70 and were free of major chronic disease had no major impairment of cognitive function and no major limitation of physical function were considered as examples of "successful aging," Franco said.
"In summary, this study provides new evidence that adiposity at midlife is a strong risk factor predicting a worse probability of successful survival among older women," he said. "In addition, our data suggest that maintenance of healthy weight throughout adulthood may be vital to optimal overall health at older ages."
Source: NewsMax Health
Posted: True Health Is True Wealth
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