New data: those who gain weight after fifty live the longest

Doctors from Ohio State University have summed up the results of a multi-year study involving more than 8,000 people, according to the Daily Mail. The participants were two generations of residents of Framingham, a city in Massachusetts, aged 31 to 80 years. Observations of older participants began in 1948 and continued until 2010. Their children were followed from 1971 to 2014. Almost all members of the first group had died by the end of the study - that is, the researchers had the opportunity to thoroughly trace how BMI (body mass index) changes throughout adulthood and is reflected in its duration. BMI is a value that allows you to assess the degree of correspondence between a person's mass and his height, that is, to understand whether this mass is insufficient, normal or excessive.

As a result of the analysis, it turned out that those who started with a normal weight and moved to overweight in the second half of life, but never suffered from obesity, were most likely to live to 70 years. Those who remained at normal weight throughout their lives were the next most likely to survive to old age. They were followed by those who were overweight, but this weight remained stable. And people who were obese all their lives had the least chance of longevity.

Thus, for those looking to live a long life, the best strategy is to start adulthood at a normal weight and then slowly add pounds.

The research is published in the journal Annals of Epidemiology.