Obesity in 20s, 30s Cuts Life Expectancy
People who are obese in their 20s and 30s, particularly men, risk up to 10 years in life expectancy, according to research out of Australia. The study calculated the expected amount of weight a person will put on each year, based on current weight, age, and sex for more than 12,000 people between ages 20 and 69. The simulation predicted the remaining life expectancy of those in four body mass index categories: healthy, overweight, obese, those with excess weight compared to people at a healthy weight.
According to the findings, people who are at a healthy weight in their 20s can expect to live another 57 to 60 years. However, women who are overweight in their 20s and 30s may lose up to six years of their life, while men could lose eight years. Women who are severely obese may lose eight years, while severely obese men could lose 10 years of life.
“Our model predicts adult obesity prevalence will increase to 35 percent by 2025,” says lead author Dr. Thomas Lung of The George Institute for Global Health. “We need to act now and have an obesity prevention strategy targeting adults at all ages and in particular young adults.”
Nutrition, More Than Exercise, Impacts Bone Strength
Weight-bearing exercises have long been considered the gold standard for maintaining and improving bone strength, but recent research found that mineral supplementation had a bigger impact than physical activity, even after exercise-training stopped.
Although the research was done in mice, it may translate to humans. “This was done in mice, but if you think about the progression to humans, diet is easier for someone to carry on as they get older and stop exercising, rather than the continuation of exercise itself,” University of Michigan Professor David Kohn says in a news release.
The study also looked at the effect of increased dietary calcium and phosphorus—that is, adding foods that contain the minerals to your diet, rather than supplementing with a pill—and found benefits to increasing both.
Stress, Not Mondays, Linked to Cardiac Arrest
The stress of Monday mornings have been associated with sudden cardiac arrest for decades, but now the stress of life makes cardiac arrest more likely to happen at any time during the week, notes a study published in Heart Rhythm.
The link to Monday morning stemmed from a sudden surge of the stress hormone known as cortisol experienced from waking up that morning. The cortisol boosted blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels, potentially sending someone to the hospital. These days, though, that cortisol surge comes on all days of the week. Though there are likely other factors that cause a cortisol spike and affect cardiac arrest, experts think stress plays a significant role. Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., killing nearly 300,000 people annually.
