Severe Obesity Tied to Increased Risk of 16 Common Health Conditions: Study

A new study has found that obesity, particularly severe obesity, is strongly associated with the incidence of 16 common health outcomes. Associations remained consistent across sex and racial groups. Strong associations were observed for obstructive sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. The findings are published in NEJM Evidence.

Researchers conducted a longitudinal cohort study to understand how different levels of obesity relate to a wide array of health conditions across a diverse U.S. population. Data were analyzed from 270,657 participants enrolled in the All of Us research program.

Participants contributed electronic health records, physical measurements, and survey data. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated at enrollment and used to classify individuals as normal weight, overweight, or obese, with further stratification into obesity classes I, II, and III.

Sixteen pre-identified health conditions were evaluated: hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia or dyslipidemia, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, gout, liver disease linked to metabolic dysfunction, biliary calculus, obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and osteoarthritis.