- A social demographer investigated sources of bias in the use of body mass index (BMI) to determine risk of mortality.
- He found that factoring in weight history and body shape influences the relationship between BMI and mortality.
- These biases from body shape and weight history may account for the “obesity paradox” where previous research has shown a survival benefit from overweight and lower levels of obesity in particular groups.
- Taking these biases into account, he noted that a higher BMI correlates linearly with higher mortality rates, showing that the risk of being overweight and having obesity has previously been underestimated.
Mortality risk estimates for being overweight or having obesity vary. However, some
Other research even suggests that obesity may protect against mortality in older patients or those with certain chronic conditions in what is known as the ‘obesity paradox’. However, other studies suggest that a higher BMI increases mortality risk.
Results may vary between studies due to differences in study design, participants’ weight history, and how lifestyle factors such as smoking and physical activity are considered.
Attending to different factors that influence the likelihood of overweight and obesity across time could help researchers better understand how obesity affects mortality risk.
Recently, Ryan Masters, a social demographer and associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder of the University of Colorado Boulder, investigated how different factors, including body type and weight history, affect obesity-related mortality rates.
He found that mortality risk increases linearly as BMI increases and that those with ‘healthy’ weight have the lowest mortality risk, countering some previous research findings.
The study was published in Population Studies.
For the study, Prof. Masters analyzed data…
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