Underweight People Face Higher Chances of Dying: Study

A new study suggests that for underweight people there are higher chances of dying compared to those who are obese.

After an analysis of over 50 case studies, the researchers concluded that too thin people face nearly two times the risk of death compared to normal-weight people.

The analysis which lasted for over five years emphasised on link between body-mass index (BMI) and problems related to it. The study, released by St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, revealed that underweight patients who had BMI of 18.5 or under had 1.8 times greater risk of dying than patients with a normal BMI which is between 18.5 and 25.9.

For obese people with BMI between 30 and 34.9, the risk of dying is 1.2 times more compared to normal-size patients. For severely obese patients, with BMI of 35 or more, the risk is 1.3 times more.

"Society is appropriately very obesity-focused and concerned with how it impacts disease and death. In the process of focusing on (obesity), we neglected the aspect of the underweight population amongst us," study author Dr Joel Ray, a physician-researcher at St Michael's Hospital, told FoxNews.com.

Researchers said that for underweight people, making healthy improvements in order to gain weight may include more than just eating part.

Some of the reasons responsible for being underweight include malnourishment, drug or alcohol use, smoking, poverty and mental health issues.

Source: Medindia