Girls! Do you want to live to a healthy old age?

Women without excess weight have a better chance of a healthy life after the age of 70ABC Magazine
Overweight women are much more likely to face various health problems at the age of 70 and older than those who had a normal weight.

These are the results of a large-scale study by Harvard University specialists published on the website of the British Medical Journal (Adiposity and weight change in mid–life in relation to healthy survival after age 70 in women: prospective cohort study - BMJ 2009;339:b3796, 09/29/2009).

The work was started in 1976, when women who were 50 years old at that time were selected among American nurses examined and monitored under The Nurses’ Health program.

17065 people lived to the age of 70, allowing them to assess the presence of chronic diseases, cognitive impairment, physical condition and mental health, depending on body mass index (BMI). Only 9.9 percent of women eventually met the criteria for a "healthy old age", that is, they did not have any of the 11 major chronic diseases selected by the researchers. At the same time, relatively slim women (BMI =18.5-22.9) lived to a healthy old age 79 percent more often than women with a BMI of 30 or more.

The best indicators were among those participants who had a normal weight from 18 to 50 years, the worst – among those who had a BMI = 25 at 18 and gained another 10 kilograms by the age of 50. The groups were standardized on smoking, socio-economic factors, lifestyle – everything that could affect physical and mental health. However, there were only white women in the groups, so scientists are not ready to say that this pattern is characteristic of the female sex in general.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
01.10.2009