Nicholas Bakalar reports for The New York Times on how extra fat in different parts of your body could affect your life expectancy. With fat in some places, you reduce your life expectancy. With fat in other places, you increase your life expectancy.
Generally, if you have body fat, no matter where it sits, you are likely to be at higher risk of dying younger. But, a meta-analysis of an enormous amount of research found that your risk varies based on where the extra body fat is located.
Researchers looked at 72 studies involving a total of 2.5 million people. They found that people with a lot of body fat in their waists, in the abdomen, were most likely to die prematurely. And, the amount of extra fat around your waist matters. An additional four inches added an 11 percent greater likelihood of dying prematurely.
Large waist size often means a higher likelihood of heart disease. It also can mean a higher risk of diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
What’s interesting is that the researchers found that there are some locations where extra fat increases your life expectancy. People with large thighs are less likely to die prematurely. Every two inches in thigh circumference means a 19 percent lower risk. People with larger thighs have more protective muscle.
For women, every four inches extra in hip circumference reduced risk of death by 10 percent. Women with larger hips have subcutaneous fat, not visceral fat, and that can be helpful.
The researchers also looked at people who had both larger waists and larger hips. They found that people with both still had a greater risk of dying early.
You might wonder how people who have less than the normal about of fat on their waists fare when it comes to life expectancy. There’s not as much research. But, what the data show is that, within a range, less waist fat could improve life expectancy. Outside that range, it’s unclear.
What can you do to extend your health and life expectancy? Focus less on your overall weight and more on your waist size!
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Good news for anyone looking for help losing weight
- Lifting weights may help you think better
- To lose weight, try eating dinner at lunch
- Eat more plants . . . reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s
- Exercise can slow down the aging of your heart and muscles substantially
