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Adipose tissue has been shown to be apivotal organ in the aging processand in the determination of life span. Owing to the rising prevalence of obesity, especially at younger ages, a potential decline in life expectancy is expected in the U.S. in the 21st cen-tury. Obesity, and mainly its abdominal form, is considered a major risk factor not only for type 2 diabetes, lipid disorders, and hypertension but also for coronary heart disease and certain cancers. In epidemiological studies, BMI, an indica-tor of relative weight for height (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) is frequently used as a surro-gate for assessment of excess body fat. For characterization of the relative risks (RRs) of mortality and morbidity, the rates in underweight (BMI,18.5 kg/m2), over-weight (25 to,30 kg/m2), class I obesity (30 to,35 kg/m2), class II obesity (35 to,40 kg/m2), and class III obesity (BMI.40 kg/m2) are compared with those in normal-weight subjects (18.5 to,25 kg/m2). A plot of the RRofmortality against BMI follows a U-shaped, or J-shaped, curve with the minimum mortality close to a
Hainer et al. (Wed,) studied this question.