Obesity ‘linked to premature death risk, particularly in men’

New research compiling the results of 189 previous studies has confirmed that being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of premature death.

Looking at data from 3.9 million adults, the researchers from the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge showed that on average, overweight people lose about one year of life expectancy, and moderately obese people lose about three years.

The excess risk of premature death – defined as dying before the age of 70 – among those who are overweight or obese was shown to be about three times as great in men as in women.

This was consistent with previous observations showing that obese men have greater insulin resistance, liver fat levels and a higher diabetes risk than women. Overall, obesity was shown to make coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and cancer more likely.

As a result, being overweight or obese is now estimated to cause about one in seven of all premature deaths in Europe and one in five premature deaths in North America.

Study co-author Professor Sir Richard Peto at the University of Oxford said: "Obesity is second only to smoking as a cause of premature death in Europe and North America."