Diseases & Conditions
Research we're watching: Obesity paradox? Just a myth
Research we're watching
Obesity paradox? Just a myth
It's bad news for the people who have clung to the idea that obesity may protect certain people with diabetes (such as the very old or ill) against dying from a serious heart condition—the so-called obesity paradox. A major study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that in people with type 2 diabetes, excess body weight does not lower the risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other causes.
The researchers looked at 11,000 people with type 2 diabetes who were part of two long-term studies. None had cancer or heart disease. Over the 15-year follow-up, researchers tracked participants' body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure defined by both your weight and height; the range from 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal.
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