Mid-age obesity linked to chronic diseases

On the contrary, women who maintain a healthy body weight between ages 18 and 50 are most likely to be healthy in later years or after 70.

The findings of the study "emphasize the importance of maintaining a healthy weight from early adulthood", the researchers said.

Study and its findings
Researchers based at the Harvard School of Public Health and at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, analyzed data on more than 17000 women taken from an ongoing long-term health study, which started in 1976. All the women were healthy and their average age was 50 at that time.

The researchers then monitored their weight and also studied various aspects of their lifestyle, including their eating habits, weight, smoking etc. every two years until 2000.

Out of these women, only 10 percent who had lived to the age 70 or beyond reported being free from the major chronic ailments like diabetes, heart attack, kidney failure, stroke, major impairment of mental skills or physical function etc, observed the researchers.

The results reported in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) showed that women who were obese at age 50 were 80 percent less likely to be healthy survivors after 70 than their counterparts who had normal body weight.

And women who were overweight at age 18 and had gained more than 22 pounds by the time they turned 50 were least likely of all to remain healthy in the later years.

The researchers also noted that irrespective of whether the women were lean, overweight or obese at age 18, those who gained weight by midlife were less likely to be healthy over 70 than others whose weight remained steady from the beginning.

Maintaining healthy weight: key to a healthy life
Women who don’t maintain a healthy body mass index (BMI) in their early or mid-age are more likely to have diseases like cancer, diabetes or heart problems in later years.

Therefore, a healthy weight should be maintained from young age which is very essential to maintain a healthy body weight in order to have a healthy and long life.

Lead researcher Qi Sun said, "Since body weight is a modifiable factor, the good news is that healthy aging is not purely the consequence of good genes or other factors that one cannot change. If women maintain a healthy weight as adults, they may increase their odds of enjoying a healthy life in their later years."

According to experts, people with a body mass index (BMI) between 19 and 25 are considered to be healthy, while those from 25 to 30 are considered overweight and those over 30 are obese.

At present, 35.3 percent of U.S. women are considered obese as per the federal definition.