06/04/2024
Weighing the dangers of extra weight. Carrying a few seemingly innocent pounds invites serious health risks.
An estimated 70% of adults in the United States are overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI), a calculation that takes into account both height and weight.
Standard definitions consider a healthy BMI as between 18.5 and 24.9, overweight as 25 to 29.9, and obese as 30 and higher.While far from perfect, BMI offers a simple gauge of whether someone's weight might pose a problem. Studies have found that a BMI higher than 25 increases your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.
But what if you have put on only a little extra weight in recent years — say, five pounds or so — and your BMI doesn't fall into the category of overweight? Is that still cause for concern?
"Any excess weight can pose a health risk and affect one's daily life," says Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "When you carry extra pounds, you also are more susceptible to joint pain, low energy, and problems sleeping."
Yet the greatest threat is the potential for gaining even more weight. "It's easy for five pounds to quickly turn into 10 pounds and then 15 pounds, and as the weight increases, so do the health risks," says Dr. Willett.
