Is skinny body more dangerous than being overweight and mildly obese? ...The death rate is up to 2.7 times higher
Sep 16, 2025
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Researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark have analyzed that underweight conditions may have a higher risk of death than overweight or mild obesity.
The study is a large-scale cohort analysis that followed 85,761 adults over five years, of which 7,555 people, or 8%, died. 81.4% of the participants were female, and the average age at the start of the study was 66.4 years.
According to the study, mild obesity groups with body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 35 had no significant difference in mortality when compared to the upper group (22.5 to 25) in the healthy range.
On the other hand, the underweight group with a BMI of 18.5 or less had a 2.7 times higher risk of death than the baseline group.
In response, the researchers explained "Some may have lost weight due to illness, which may lead to high BMI appearing to have a protective effect.'
It is also possible that the high BMI group had favorable characteristics for survival because most of the study subjects were elderly people who had undergone medical examinations.
In addition, moderate obese groups with a BMI of 35 to 40 showed a 23% increased risk of death. This is consistent with previous studies showing that obesity has adverse health effects when it exceeds a certain level.
The study will be presented at the annual meeting of the European Diabetes Association (EASD) in Vienna, Austria, from the 15th to the 19th.
Meanwhile, the BMI standards of Koreans are different from those of this study.
The BMI of Koreans following WHO Asian standards is classified as less than 18.5 as 'underweight', 18.5 to 22.9 as 'standard', 23.0 to 24.9 as 'overweight (risk)', 25.0 to 29.9 'obesity (stage 1)', and over 30 'overweight (stage 2)'.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
