The study was intended to address recent controversy over the health implications of overweight, with some evidence suggesting that overweight individuals have all-cause mortality similar to or lower than that of normal-weight groups.
“While we do observe evidence of the well-described overweight and obesity paradox, in which heavier individuals appear to live longer on average after diagnosis of CVD compared with individuals with normal BMI, our data when following up individuals prior to the onset of CVD indicate that this occurs because of a trend toward earlier onset of disease in individuals who are overweight and obese,” they wrote.
The study did not account for change in BMI over the course of follow-up, nor did it use data on fat distribution or the degree of visceral adiposity, the researchers noted.
“Additional important outcomes of obesity-related morbidity, such as atrial fibrillation, sleep-disordered breathing, and chronic liver disease, were not ascertained routinely in our cohort studies, and we likely underestimated the overall comorbidity burden of excess weight.”
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute supported the study. No conflicts of interest were declared.
SOURCE: Khan SS et al. JAMA Cardiol. 2018 Feb 28. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2018.0022.