Losing weight between early adulthood and midlife can reduce the chance of premature death.
Obesity is a global health problem that impacts a person’s quality of life and lifespan. Findings from a recent study suggest that losing weight between early adulthood and midlife influences the risk of death from all causes.
To estimate the weight status of people in the US, researchers often turn to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES — a large, continuously updated dataset that represents the health of the US population.
Previous research has demonstrated that weight gain between early adulthood and midlife has negative consequences for longevity. The current study investigated whether weight loss during this time of life would affect the risk of death from all causes.
The authors of the study examined NHANES data encompassing more than 24,000 people aged 40 to 74 years. They weighed participants at baseline, and each person recalled how much they weighed at age 25 years (early adulthood) and 10 years before the start of the study. The authors studied the relationship between the participants' body mass index (BMI, a proxy for body fatness) at various time points and their probability of dying during the study period.
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They determined that carrying extra weight during early adulthood and midlife, as measured by a BMI above the normal range, accounted for more than 12 percent of premature deaths in the US. Furthermore, they estimated that if obese participants lost weight during the period between early adulthood and midlife — such that their BMI fell into the overweight category — more than 3 percent of early deaths could have been avoided.
These findings suggest that maintaining a normal weight during the period from early adulthood to midlife reduces the risk of mortality from all causes. Moreover, these findings indicate that even modest weight loss during this time of life reduces the risk of mortality from all causes.