“Letting yourself go” will shorten your life

In keeping with yesterday’s “obesity kills” theme, I have another terrifying study to share with you today. One that you can’t afford to ignore.

Because here’s the truth: You simply don’t have to accept that gaining weight is “just part of getting older.” And you ought to be aware that “letting yourself go” will shorten your life… just as readily as staying trim could save it.

The lethal danger of a tipping scale

Let me get right to the point: This new study showed that, compared to people who had a normal weight at midlife, people who saw the scale jump from slim to obese faced a higher risk of early death down the road.

To reach this conclusion, researchers looked at distinct stages over the course of several decades of life: early adulthood (age 25), middle adulthood (about age 47), older adulthood (about age 57), and later life (from age 57 to 69).

They placed subjects in one of three weight categories:

1. “Normal”, with a body mass index (BMI) under 25
2. “Overweight,” with a BMI between 25 and 29.9
3. “Obese,” with a BMI of 30 or higher

And let’s just say their findings should be a wake-up call to anyone struggling with “middle-age spread.”

Specifically, those whose BMIs rocketed from normal to obese by middle age suffered a 22 percent higher risk of death from any cause during the study’s follow-up. And a 49 percent higher risk of death from heart disease.

But in case you’re wondering, the news was even worse for people who started out obese and stayed that way. For these subjects, risk of early death from any cause was 72 percent higher by age 25, 61 percent higher by age 47, and 20 percent higher by age 57.

In other words, obesity kills at any age. And how many studies have I shared by now that have said exactly this same thing? I dare say, a lot more than I’d like.

A right to good health

I’ve been preaching to you about this for years now: If you want to live the longest life possible, losing weight is a start… but keeping it off for the rest of your life is the real trick. (And let’s face it—it’s a whole lot easier to prevent weight gain than it is to try to lose it all over again.)

If I’ve written this once, I’ve written it a thousand times. Change starts with you. So obviously, it’s important that you eat right and stay active.

But as a society, we absolutely must start doing more.

In fact, we need to stop rewarding a system that lays traps at every turn and makes it harder, if not impossible, for the average American to maintain a healthy weight. And that means looking at everything from the food supply to pollution levels to social environments.

Because it’s one thing to instruct someone to make healthy choices. But if those choices are neither accessible nor affordable, what difference does it make?? Right before I sat down to write this, I shopped online for non-toxic cleaning and personal care products to the tune of close to $100 USD.

I’m sorry, but that’s simply outrageous. And while I’m privileged enough to be able to afford that premium, many more people out there aren’t—and if nothing changes, they may never be.

The message is clear: Weight loss saves lives—whether it’s through good old diet and exercise or (and I hate to say this) surgery in cases of extreme morbid obesity.

And if you want my humble opinion, it’s way past time we gave all Americans a fighting chance.

P.S. If you need help getting started, I outlined an “all-you-can-eat” cheat secret in the January 2012 issue of my monthly newsletter, Logical Health Alternatives (“How to lose those extra holiday pounds eating anything you want!”). Subscribers have access to this and all of my past content in the archives. So what are you waiting for? Sign up today!

Source:

“Becoming Obese From Age 25 to Midlife Knocks Years Off Life.” Medscape Medical News, 10/22/2019. (medscape.com/viewarticle/920158)