Men who are overweight from a young age twice as likely to die in their 50s

Men who are obese in their early 20s are twice as likely to die in their 50s than healthier people — with half having fatal heart attacks within 30 years.

The findings are revealed in a major study published in British Medical Journal- linked magazine, BMJ Open.

According to the research, which followed the lives of 6,500 men aged 22 over a 33-year period, the long- term risk of heart attacks, diabetes, blood clots, and strokes increases significantly if a man is overweight from a young age.

It is hoped the finding that these risks make death a real possibility by middle age will act as a wake-up call to the public.

At the start of the Danish study, 80% of participants were considered to be of normal weight, 10% overweight, 8.5% underweight, and just 1.5% obese.

Among the men considered obese at the age of 22, half had either died or been diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition linked to weight problems by the time they turned 55.

In addition, this group was found to be:

- Twice as likely to have died;

- eight times more likely to have diabetes compared to people of normal weight;

- four times more likely to suffer from potentially lethal blood clots;

- twice as likely to have already suffered a heart attack;

- twice as likely to have high blood pressure.

Insisting the findings need to be taken seriously as a warning to those who do not realise the long-term effects of weight gain, the study’s authors said the issue “will, in decades to come, place an unprecedented burden on healthcare systems worldwide”.

A recent Growing Up In Ireland survey published last month, said obesity was a growing problem in this country, particularly among younger generations.

At the launch of the report, dietician and head of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, Richelle Flanagan, said it was likely this trend would continue as “73% of the country doesn’t have access to a child obesity programme”.