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A BMI under 18 is associated with early death in both men and women, and this risk increases as the BMI falls. Recent research has suggested that with people over 60 years of age, being underweight is associated with as high mortality rate as moderate obesity!
Some causes of being underweight include an inadequate intake of calories, excess activity (such as athletes who do not compensate for activity by increasing caloric intake), poor absorption and utilization of food, and disease (such as cancer or hyperthyroidism that increases energy needs, or stress).
Being overweight is a state in which weight is above the ideal BMI range (see above). Obesity is a condition of excessive body fat, (usually defined as a BMI of 30 or greater), and is associated with a large number of disease states. It has been determined that a 20% increase in body weight for an individual who is not underweight substantially increases the risk for hypertension, coronary artery disease, lipid disorders and diabetes. Obesity is also a risk factor for joint disease, gallstones, respiratory problems, cancer, poor wound healing and decreased resistance to bacterial and viral infections. Statistics show that if a person is 25% overweight, the death rate is 1.7 times greater than normal. If an individual is 40% overweight, the death rate increases to 2.2 times greater than normal.
For help with weight, see section - "How LifeSpring can help"
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