Excess weight and premature death

Being overweight (either overweight or obese) is a known and direct cause of premature death, do you know why? We will discover why it influences in this sense.

Excess weight (that is, both overweight and obesity) predisposes to premature death, mainly due to the different consequences it produces, especially the decrease in life expectancy.

There is an increasing number of health specialists (and the different institutions and related administrations) who are aware of the problem that, today, both overweight and obesity pose.

Hence, they have been considered the epidemic of the 21st century: every year hundreds of thousands of cases are diagnosed around the world, thus becoming a true global health problem.

If we refer to new scientific studies, the alarm is even greater, especially when we take into account that recent studies have shown that even a slight overweight can lead to premature death, so that More than an aesthetic issue, excess weight, however minimal it may be, then becomes a real health problem.

Among the most serious consequences of obesity, we find that excess weight predisposes to serious metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

In the particular case of cardiovascular diseases, obesity is a clear cause that predisposes to suffer them, especially since excess weight causes an increase in blood pressure and both cholesterol and triglycerides.

High blood pressure, as you surely know, consists of an increase in blood pressure levels, which is the force exerted by blood against the walls of the arteries. When we suffer from hypertension, it means that the pressure that the heart exerts on the arteries is very high, supposing a greater resistance for the heart and producing an overexertion.

In addition, we must not forget that excess weight causes an accumulation of intra-abdominal fat, which is also associated with a higher risk of suffering from coronary heart disease.

In the case of diabetes, we are faced with a disease, chronic and serious, which appears in most cases of overweight and obesity. It is known that there is a much higher risk of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (also known medically as type 2 diabetes), when the Body Mass Index is higher, especially in those people who have a family history of diabetes.

But being overweight can also be a cause, even when obesity figures have not been reached, which assume a Body Mass Index of 30.

But scholars highlight the decrease in life expectancy, since the obese person has more health problems, which can ultimately translate into premature death as a result of related cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.

How to prevent excess weight?

It is actually very simple, since the most appropriate thing is to follow a healthy lifestyle, based on following a balanced and varied diet (rich in healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, white meat and nuts), practice physical exercise regularly and stay away from healthy habits such as tobacco and alcohol.

However, below we summarize some simple and useful tips to follow precisely to get away from both overweight and obesity:

• Follow a natural, balanced and healthy diet: As we indicated above, it is essential that you follow a healthy and balanced diet, opting for fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish and nuts.
• Practice physical exercise: On a regular basis, if possible every day or at least every 2 days, for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco: Both unhealthy habits are a risk for heart health and general health, and also lead to excess weight.

Contrary to what is thought, it is not at all advisable to follow a strict diet, but to make a change in lifestyle that is not only nutritional, but also in lifestyle.