A large study published in The Lancet this week involving almost 4 million adults reports has that being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of premature death, second only to smoking. Here’s what the experts had to say.
Dr Lennert Veerman, is from the School of Public Health at The University of Queensland. He recently published on how a sugar tax would impact on Australian health outcomes.
“In this landmark study, the authors have shown that overweight is associated with increased mortality. By restricting the analysis to disease-free never-smokers who were followed up for at least five years, they removed much – but not all – of the bias that plagued earlier studies. The study proves that overweight is not good for health, even at an advanced age.
This confirms that the majority of Australians risk an early grave due to their weight. Diets alone are not going to fix this, and blaming individuals is stigmatizing and achieves nothing. We need to reduce waist lines across the board, and governments have to take the lead.
Healthy food needs to be available and affordable, and a junk food levy would discourage unhealthy consumption, and bring in funds to subsidize healthy food. Australia needs fruits, veggies and wholemeal bread, not sugared drinks.
Active transport – walking, cycling, public transport – has to be made easier so car use can be reduced. Australia needs footpaths and bikeways, not extra car lanes.”
Professor Sanchia Aranda is CEO, Cancer Council Australia
“This study is consistent with what we also know about the relationship between obesity and cancer. Given the unprecedented population weight gain in Australia the last 30 years, we can expect to see the number of cancers and cancer deaths related to obesity and overweight increase in the future unless we take action.
“Cancer Council estimates show around 4000 cancers diagnosed in Australia each year are related to obesity or overweight alone. Even more cancer cases are linked to poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity.
“Women are more likely to be diagnosed with a weight-related cancer. Around 2300 of the 4000 obesity-related cancer cases diagnosed annually are in females. This is partly because of the high level of association between body mass and cancers of the female breast and the endometrium. Obesity is also a major risk factor for cancers of the oesophagus, colon and kidney, in both men and women.
“Unless we improve our diets and our level of physical activity, we will see incidence of obesity and overweight-related cancers continue to increase. Cancer is already Australia’s biggest cause of premature death. Obesity is a major challenge for governments, federal, state and local, which must take some responsibility for how food is formulated, marketed and labelled and how communities can be supported in being more active. It is also important for individuals to be more aware that their weight can have a significant impact on their cancer risk.”
Associate Professor Marina Reeves is a National Breast Cancer Foundation Research Fellow at The University of Queensland
“There had been a need for this type of analysis due to the confusion around the ‘obesity paradox’. Some previous research had suggested that being overweight was actually better, or protective, particularly for older adults. This study removes of a lot of the ‘noise’ in previous research by excluding smokers and those with pre-existing disease.
These results show the importance of advocating for funding for preventative health services and how to manage the large proportion of Australians who are already overweight or obese and in need of assistance to manage their weight.”
Dr Lauren Ball is a NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow at the Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University
“The Lancet article clearly highlights that overweight and obesity is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Given the substantial and increasing prevalence of obesity across the world, additional strategies are required to support patients to have healthy lifestyle behaviours, including eating well and exercising regularly.
This article also comes at a time where we cannot ignore the role of lifestyle behaviours on our health. Governments need to place much higher priority on supporting healthy lifestyles, including changes to health care system structures, regulating food supply and incentivising physical activity opportunities.