BMI mortality correlation
July 15, 2016
IN WHAT most of us have come
to believe was common knowledge,
a Curtin University global obesity
study across four continents has
demonstrated that people classed
as overweight or obese have higher
mortality rates.
The Global BMI Mortality
Collaboration was established
to provide a standardised
comparison of associations of BMI
with mortality across different
populations.
The novel research covered 4
million people in 32 countries,
mainly located in Aust/NZ, East
Asia, Europe and North America.
The World Health Organization
(WHO) estimates some 1.9 billion
adults are overweight or obese.
Professor Rachel Huxley, Curtin
University Faculty of Health
Sciences, said the research clarifies
global regional variations.
“The worldwide prevalence of
obesity is high and increasing,” she
said.
The report revealed North
America topped the list for obesity
prevalence at 18% followed by
Europe (15%), Aust/NZ (10%) and
East Asia (5%).
“These findings suggest that if the
entire population had ideal levels
of BMI this would avoid about 1
in 5 premature deaths in North
America, 1 in 7 in Europe, 1 in 10
in Australia/New Zealand, and 1
in 20 in East Asia, assuming that
the associations of overweight
and obesity with mortality in our
primary analyses largely reflect
causal effects,” Huxley explained.
An unexpected result of the
study was the substantially higher
mortality rate not only among
those in WHO’s underweight
category, but also in those with BMI
of 18.5 - 20 kg/m2, implying that in
excessively lean populations being
underweight remains a cause for
concern.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 15 Jul 16To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 15 Jul 16
