Research
Energy balance
Excess body weight and weight gain are strongly associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and premature mortality, even within the 'normal' BMI range.
Maintain a stable weight and avoid excess adiposity to reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and premature death. This is true even if you are currently in the 'normal' BMI range, as weight gain itself is a significant risk factor.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
weight gain and being overweight or obese are important risk factors for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancers, and premature death... weight gain through middle adulthood of more than a few kilograms significantly raises heart disease risk, even if those gains are not enough to explicitly classify an individual as overweight or obese.
Why this rating
Based on 40 years of follow-up in large cohorts (NHS, NHS II) with detailed assessments.
Source
Determinants and Consequences of Obesity
Adela Hruby et al. · American Journal of Public Health · 2016
DOI 10.2105/ajph.2016.303326
narrative_review · n=238372Cited 745×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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Related findings · Energy balance
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