World health experts estimate that nearly 1.9 billion adults and 380 million children are overweight or obese. Having excess body fatness carries many risks, including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and many types of cancer. A recent review suggests that the effects of obesity are similar to those associated with aging.
Obesity, a condition characterized by access body fatness, is commonly defined as being 20 percent above a person’s ideal body weight, which corresponds to having a body mass index greater than 30. Research indicates that obesity roughly doubles a person’s risk of premature death.
Aging, the progressive accumulation of damage that occurs to an organism over time, eventually leads to disease and death. These damages drive genomic dysfunction, compromised immunity, poor metabolic function, and increased risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
The authors of the review point out that obesity’s association with aging is exemplified by the fact that obesity decreases telomere length in humans by 240 base pairs, which roughly corresponds to 9 years of aging. Telomeres are distinctive structures comprised of short, repetitive sequences of DNA located on the ends of chromosomes. They form a protective “cap” – a sort of disposable buffer that gradually shortens with age. Shortened telomeres promote genomic instability and are associated with shorter lifespan. According to the authors, research indicates that obesity reduces life expectancy by 5.8 years in men and 7.1 years in women after the age of 40.
The authors went on to posit that the similarities between obesity and aging are driven by shared molecular- and cellular-level mechanisms, including increased levels of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, increased apoptosis, impaired autophagy, and increased inflammation. These mechanisms work together in a synergistic fashion to promote the early onset of many age-related conditions. Finally, the authors suggested that viewing obesity as a disease of aging is critical to understanding the condition and identifying better ways to prevent or treat it.
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