Body Mass Index linked to mental health and these other conditions

Body Mass Index or BMI could be an indicator of several diseases and conditions including your mental health. That’s why it’s important to calculate and understand your BMI.

By: Upneet Pansare | | Updated: September 27, 2018 3:28 pm

You should be very worried if you have a high BMI © Shutterstock

Body Mass Index refers to a measurement derived from your weight and height that tells you if you are underweight, overweight or at your ideal weight based on your height. BMI can be an apt indicator of your health and is hence directly linked to your well-being. A new research says that high BMI is linked to mental health. According to Claire Haworth from the University of Bristol, ‘higher BMI is causing the population to be less happy and less satisfied with their lives.’ But there are many other factors that higher BMI can have a direct impact on:

A previous research has said that male teenagers with high BMI could run a higher risk of developing severe liver disease or liver cancer in the later stages of their life. Researchers at the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden found that obese men were more than twice as likely to develop liver disease in later life than men with normal weight. A high BMI is also associated with increasing the risk for Type 2 diabetes, which is, in turn, linked to a higher risk of severe liver disease.

Another research states that as the body mass index increases, so does the growth and spread of the blood cancer multiple myeloma. In persons with cancer who are out of the normal weight category, their BMI contributes to multiple myeloma growth and progression, according to lead study author Katie DeCicco-Skinner, Associate Professor of Biology at American University.

An Israeli study found that higher BMI, as well as BMI in the accepted normal range in late adolescence, may be related to a higher risk of death in mid-adulthood from non-coronary non-stroke cardiovascular diseases such as fatal arrhythmia, hypertensive heart disease, cardiomyopathy, arterial disease, heart failure and pulmonary embolism. According to an article on IANS, obesity is associated with an increased mortality and morbidity of cardiovascular disease. This study specifically looked at adolescent BMI and death attributed to cardiovascular diseases other than CHD and stroke.

Published : September 27, 2018 2:07 pm | Updated:September 27, 2018 3:28 pm

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