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Impact of Overweight on the Risk of Developing Common Chronic Diseases During a 10-Year Period

Archives of Internal Medicine · 2001 · Vol. 161(13) · pp. 1581–1581

Alison E. Field✉(Brigham and Women's Hospital)Eugenie Coakley(John Snow (United States))Aviva Must(Tufts University)Jennifer L. Spadano(Tufts University)Nan M. Laird(Harvard University Press)William H. Dietz(Harvard University)Eric B. Rimm(Harvard University Press)Graham A. Colditz(Harvard University Press)

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Abstract

During 10 years of follow-up, the incidence of diabetes, gallstones, hypertension, heart disease, colon cancer, and stroke (men only) increased with degree of overweight in both men and women. Adults who were overweight but not obese (ie, 25.0 < or = BMI < or = 29.9) were at significantly increased risk of developing numerous health conditions. Moreover, the dose-response relationship between BMI and the risk of developing chronic diseases was evident even among adults in the upper half of the healthy weight range (ie, BMI of 22.0-24.9), suggesting that adults should try to maintain a BMI between 18.5 and 21.9 to minimize their risk of disease.

Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet Nutritional Studies and Diet Health Promotion and Cardiovascular PreventionOverweightMedicineBody mass indexGallstonesRelative riskDiabetes mellitusObesityType 2 diabetesStroke (engine)Incidence (geometry)

MeSH terms

CholelithiasisChronic DiseaseDiabetes MellitusFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHeart DiseasesHumansHypertensionMaleMiddle AgedObesityRisk FactorsBody Mass IndexLogistic Models