Research
Energy balance
In overweight or obese diabetic patients, higher initial BMI (specifically >35 kg/m2 and >40 kg/m2) is associated with a dose-dependent increase in all-cause mortality.
If your BMI is above 35 or 40, your risk of death from any cause is higher than those with a BMI of 25-30. While the 'obesity paradox' exists, it does not protect against the risks of extreme obesity. Focus on managing diabetes and cardiovascular health rather than just weight.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Compared with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30 kg/m2, an initial BMI of >35 kg/m2 was associated with increased all-cause mortality (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.50), which was further increased with an initial BMI of >40 kg/m2 (RR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.94).
Why this rating
Meta-analysis data with statistically significant CIs for BMI >35 and >40.
Source
Weight loss increases all-cause mortality in overweight or obese patients with diabetes
Yiqi Chen et al. · Medicine · 2018
DOI 10.1097/md.0000000000012075
Meta-analysis · 8 studiesCited 29×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- In overweight or obese adults with diabetes, unintentional or general weight loss is associated with a statistically significant increase in all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality compared to weight stability.Good
- Intentional weight loss in overweight or obese diabetic patients is not associated with a significant change in all-cause mortality compared to weight stability.Moderate
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