You Pay For Your Obesity With Your Happy Years
You Pay for Your Obesity with Your Happy Years
Being fat has impacted my life. I’ve lost weight, but it’s also had an impact on my future – I hope only in the sense that I’ll be flabby for the rest of my life in my stretched skin. It bothers me, of course, but I try to think of it as a positive, hard-earned award.
When I was fat, I was always the last one up the hill – if I didn’t turn back halfway up. My back was always sore. I could only dance with a knee brace. I wore shorts from March to December. I had high blood pressure. I was the same person as I am now. I just changed my mind about health.
I care about my health. I value my health and having as many “happy years” as possible – years that I will not spend in my old age confined to a chair or a bed, years that I can spend actively with my family and friends.
Strange to talk about it like that when I was happy, even when I was fat. I am the same person with the same habit. But now I have a better chance of a longer and happier life. I’ll be 49 this year, and I don’t need to take medication for diabetes. Or high blood pressure. I don’t need heart medicine or painkillers for my back.
If I hadn’t lost weight, I would have been on regular medication for five years. Fortunately, I have been able to change my lifestyle.
We have to be honest – especially with ourselves – and be able to say what the cost of being overweight is.
Today, medicine can work wonders. It can keep you alive in normal circumstances, even if you are obese: you just need to take medication. First for this, then for that, and then for the side effects. You’re alive but only on medication. The covid epidemic has shown that this is partly an illusion because fat people have fallen victim to the epidemic at a higher rate.
The price you pay for being fat is your happy years.
Fewer years on the move, less travel, playing with grandchildren, dancing, sports, or activities of any kind, and early death.
Is it worth it?
Several studies link obesity to earlier mortality. A study entitled “Obesity and early mortality in the United States” analyzed data from Americans and found that obesity (defined as a BMI of 30 or higher) is likely to lead to earlier mortality compared to individuals of average weight (BMI around 23-25). Specifically, mortality occurred 9.44 years earlier for obese individuals. The study also indicated that the risk of earlier mortality increases with the severity of obesity, meaning that individuals with higher levels of obesity should expect even earlier mortality.
The analysis, entitled “Body-mass index and all-cause mortality: individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 239 prospective studies in four continents”, examined data from 239 studies in 32 countries involving more than 10.6 million participants. The study aimed to provide more evidence of the association between overweight and premature mortality. The results showed that the risk of death was significantly increased in overweight and obese BMI groups. For example, BMI between 30-35 was associated with an average 45% higher risk of death. And a BMI between 40 and 60 was associated with a nearly threefold increased risk. The study also found that every 5 point increase in BMI above BMI 25 was associated with a 31% higher risk of premature death. Simple math, the higher your BMI, the exponentially higher your risk of premature death.
| BMI | Odds of early death |
|---|---|
| 30 | 1.31 |
| 35 | 1.72 |
| 40 | 2.25 |
| 45 | 2.94 |
| 50 | 3.86 |
| 55 | 5.05 |
When I had a BMI of 40, I had more than twice the chance of early death. It is very shocking to see this written down about myself.
These studies confirm that obesity has non-negligible health risks, such as increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. They point to the importance of maintaining a healthy weight for longevity and overall well-being – happy years.
Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that it is possible to be healthy when you are obese. Let’s call this symptom-free period a latency period.
I’ve written about calorie calculation before; you can also find a BMI calculator here
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