What is the relationship between weight and life expectancy

Some thin people are "genetically thin." Dr. Kuang Jian, chief physician of the Endocrinology Department of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, said: "In the long process of human evolution, the genes of the vast majority of people have evolved to store the calories they consume quickly. Only a very small number of people's genes are not good at storing calories, so they will not gain weight no matter how much they eat." The health status of people who are genetically thin is normal, and their BMI is rarely lower than 18. BMI = weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared. This is the internationally accepted standard for measuring the degree of fatness or thinness in adults.

People with a BMI of less than 18 are abnormally thin

For people with a BMI less than 18, if they are abnormally thin, we can definitely find the reason. Medical statistics show that the average life expectancy of people who are too thin is slightly lower than that of people with normal weight. Because thin people have too little fat, they are relatively more likely to suffer from problems such as gastroptosis and nephroptosis, and they recover more slowly after illness than normal people.

When people gain weight or lose weight, they follow a rule:

Dietary intake of calories > exercise consumption = fat storage

Dietary calorie intake < exercise consumption = fat consumption

Therefore, the following three factors determine whether a person is fat or thin: A. Whether there is any disease that prevents the body from absorbing energy or consumes too much energy; B. Whether the dietary calorie intake is sufficient; C. Is the amount of exercise too great? Many thin people always say that they can’t gain weight for no reason. In fact, they just haven’t seriously looked for the reason. The common reasons for not gaining weight vary at different ages.

child

Parents should consider whether their children have worms. Children with worms always have trouble sleeping and grind their teeth at night. Weight loss is caused by poor appetite and failure of food to be absorbed by the body after infection with insects. In the past, intestinal worms were more often associated with poor hygiene. The current outbreak is more likely to be related to keeping pets and loving to eat sashimi.

In addition, if a child has a picky eater, such as only eating meat or only eating vegetables, he or she will certainly not gain weight. Parents must improve their eating habits and let their children have a balanced diet.

Adults

1. Improper diet

Some people cannot gain weight because of bad eating habits. "In clinical practice, some people will deliberately abstain from food after they become ill." Kuang Jian said that he had treated a middle-aged couple who had been losing weight for half a year. After careful questioning, he found that they only ate vegetables and drank milk while increasing their exercise due to diabetes. They rarely ate starchy foods. Another patient's relative had diabetes, and he was afraid that he would also get the disease, so he restricted his diet and exercised a lot, so of course he would lose weight. "Some diseases require dietary restrictions, but this is to reduce the amount of intake while ensuring nutrition."

2. Excessive weight loss

Some ladies who love beauty take diet pills indiscriminately, develop anorexia and become increasingly thinner. He once treated a female student who was 1.6 meters tall but weighed only 60 kilograms. She suffered from anorexia due to excessive dieting. "Anorexia is a disease caused by neurological abnormalities, and patients have no appetite at all." Kuang Jian said that some irregular weight-loss drugs on the market will inhibit the central nervous system, affect appetite, and also have side effects such as depression and increased heart rate.

3. Disease factors

Hypermetabolic diseases and chronic wasting diseases will affect body weight, such as tuberculosis, diabetes, thyroid disease, tumors, etc. For example: patients with hyperthyroidism often have symptoms such as exophthalmos, palpitations, irritability, polyphagia, and sweating; if you like to eat raw fish or have pets, consider whether they are infested with worms; whether they have gastrointestinal diseases, such as stomach problems that make them uncomfortable after eating; patients with anxiety disorders cannot rest well, their consumption increases, and they will lose weight; women in menopause are in a state of continuous high metabolism and are also prone to losing weight. Chronic diseases are common among the middle-aged and elderly. For example, diabetes can cause weight loss. Kuang Jian reminded: "If diabetic patients do not control their blood sugar well, their resistance will be weakened and they will be more susceptible to various infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. We should pay attention to this."

After recovering from this type of disease, you will gain weight quickly. Some people are not sick, but often stay up late to work, which consumes a lot of energy and causes them to lose weight. We would like to remind everyone that if a fat person suddenly becomes thin, illness must be ruled out as a factor.

■ Weight Gain Guide

General rule: Reduce the amount of exercise a little bit, eat a little more on the basis of balanced nutrition, and let the intake exceed the consumption. In terms of diet, those who want to gain weight should increase the intake of starchy staple foods and high-protein foods (fish, meat, eggs, and milk). Measure your body weight once a month and adjust your diet based on changes in weight.

Weight remains unchanged: keep the same amount of exercise and eat more.

The weight is still decreasing: it may be due to excessive exercise and excessive consumption, or insufficient dietary intake, or the primary disease may not be properly treated.

A relaxed attitude, regular exercise, balanced nutrition, good rest, and timely prevention and treatment of diseases are the keys to maintaining a normal weight.