High BMI tied to poor health

NEW YORK - Reuters

Regardless of lifestyle and other health-related factors, heavier people were more likely than lean ones to be hospitalized for a variety of conditions in a new study from Australia. That was the case not just for obese people, but for the merely overweight as well.

Among middle-aged adults, researchers found that every extra body mass index (BMI) point - equal to about six or seven pounds - was tied to a four-percent higher chance of being admitted to the hospital over a two-year period.

“There is considerable evidence that severe obesity is bad for your health, resulting in higher rates of disease and consequently higher use of health services and higher death rates,” lead author Rosemary Korda, told Reuters Health in an email.