Is Being Overweight Bad for You? The Effects of Weight and Weight Status on Self-Reported Health
01 Jan 2017-
About: The article was published on 2017-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received None citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Overweight & Public health.
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TL;DR: A systematic review of reported hazard ratios (HRs) of all-cause mortality for overweight and obesity relative to normal weight in the general population found that both obesity (all grades) and grades 2 and 3 obesity were associated with significantly higher all- cause mortality.
Abstract: Importance Estimates of the relative mortality risks associated with normal weight, overweight, and obesity may help to inform decision making in the clinical setting. Objective To perform a systematic review of reported hazard ratios (HRs) of all-cause mortality for overweight and obesity relative to normal weight in the general population. Data Sources PubMed and EMBASE electronic databases were searched through September 30, 2012, without language restrictions. Study Selection Articles that reported HRs for all-cause mortality using standard body mass index (BMI) categories from prospective studies of general populations of adults were selected by consensus among multiple reviewers. Studies were excluded that used nonstandard categories or that were limited to adolescents or to those with specific medical conditions or to those undergoing specific procedures. PubMed searches yielded 7034 articles, of which 141 (2.0%) were eligible. An EMBASE search yielded 2 additional articles. After eliminating overlap, 97 studies were retained for analysis, providing a combined sample size of more than 2.88 million individuals and more than 270 000 deaths. Data Extraction Data were extracted by 1 reviewer and then reviewed by 3 independent reviewers. We selected the most complex model available for the full sample and used a variety of sensitivity analyses to address issues of possible overadjustment (adjusted for factors in causal pathway) or underadjustment (not adjusted for at least age, sex, and smoking). Results Random-effects summary all-cause mortality HRs for overweight (BMI of 25- Conclusions and Relevance Relative to normal weight, both obesity (all grades) and grades 2 and 3 obesity were associated with significantly higher all-cause mortality. Grade 1 obesity overall was not associated with higher mortality, and overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality. The use of predefined standard BMI groupings can facilitate between-study comparisons.
3,189 citations
TL;DR: Clinicians, researchers, and journal editors should be aware of the transition toward a common definition of healthy weight, overweight, and obesity and consider making this transition as well.
666 citations
TL;DR: Differences in the self‐perception of weight status in the United States between the two most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey periods are described, and evidence of a generational shift in social norms related to body weight is interpreted.
Abstract: In this article, we describe differences in the self-perception of weight status in the United States between the two most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) periods (1988-1994 and 1999-2004), and test the hypothesis that secular increases in adult mean BMI, adult obesity, and childhood obesity contributed to changes over time in weight perceptions. We find that the probability of self-classifying as overweight is significantly lower on average in the more recent survey, for both women and men, controlling for objective weight status and other factors. Among women, the decline in the tendency to self-classify as overweight is concentrated in the 17-35 age range, and is more pronounced among women with normal BMI than those with overweight BMI. Among men, the shift away from feeling overweight is roughly equal across age groups. Overweight men exhibit a sharper decline in feeling overweight than normal weight men. Despite the declines in feeling overweight between surveys, weight misperception did not increase significantly for men and decreased by a sizable margin among women. We interpret the findings as evidence of a generational shift in social norms related to body weight. As a result, people may be less likely to desire weight loss than previously, limiting the effectiveness of public health campaigns aimed at weight reduction. On the other hand, there may be health benefits associated with improved body image.
210 citations
TL;DR: Examination of the impact of neighborhood structure and social organization on self-rated health for a sample of Chicago residents aged 55 and older indicates that affluence, a neighborhood structural resource, contributes positively to self- rated health and attenuates the association between race and self- rating.
Abstract: Objectives. Racial differences in self-rated health at older ages are well documented. African Americans consistently report poorer health, even when education, income, and other health status indicators are controlled. The extent to which neighborhood-level characteristics mediate this association remains largely unexplored. We ask whether neighborhood social and economic resources help to explain the self-reported health differential between African Americans and Whites. Methods. Using the 1990 Decennial Census, the 1994–1995 Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods–Community Survey, and selected years of the 1991–2000 Metropolitan Chicago Information Center– Metro Survey, we examine the impact of neighborhood structure and social organization on self-rated health for a sample of Chicago residents aged 55 and older (N ¼ 636). We use multilevel modeling techniques to examine both individual and neighborhood-level covariates. Results. Findings indicate that affluence, a neighborhood structural resource, contributes positively to self-rated health and attenuates the association between race and self-rated health. When the level of affluence in a community is low, residential stability is negatively related to health. Collective efficacy, a measure of neighborhood social resources, is not associated with health for this older population. Discussion. Analyses incorporating individual and neighborhood-level contextual indicators may further our understanding of the complex association between sociodemographic factors and health.
200 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that obesity has a negative impact on self-rated health among adults, even in the absence of chronic disease conditions, and the need to craft national preventive strategies to curb obesity in at-risk population groups is underscored.
172 citations