FAT’S DOMINOES

Overweight people are:
50 percent more likely to develop heart disease
(obese: Up to 100 percent)
Up to 360 percent more likely to develop diabetes
(obese: Up to 1,020 percent)
16 percent more likely to die of a first heart attack (obese: 49 percent)
Roughly 50 percent more likely to have total cholesterol above 250
(obese: Up to 122 percent)
50 percent more likely to have erectile dysfunction (obese: 200 percent)
14 percent less attractive to the opposite sex (obese: 43 percent)
Likely to spend 37 percent more a year at the pharmacy
(obese: 105 percent)
Likely to stay 19 percent longer in the hospital (obese: 49 percent)
20 percent more likely to have asthma (obese: 50 percent)
Up to 31 percent more likely to die of any cause (obese: 62 percent)
19 percent more likely to die in a car crash (obese: 37 percent)
120 percent more likely to develop stomach cancer (obese: 330 percent)
Up to 90 percent more likely to develop gallstones (obese:
Up to 150 percent)
590 percent more likely to develop esophageal cancer
(obese: 1,520 percent)
35 percent more likely to develop kidney cancer (obese: 70 percent)
14 percent more likely to have osteoarthritis (obese: 34 percent)
70 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure
(obese: Up to 170 percent)
2 minutes) were five times less likely to suffer lower-body injuries
than the 31 who barely notched 50. But that’s not the
most striking element. The men who performed well in the
pushups and 2-mile run enjoyed no such protection—suggesting
that upper-body strength and cardiovascular endurance had
little effect on keeping bodies sound. It was abdominal strength
that offered the protection. Unlike any other muscles in your
body, a strong core affects the functioning of the entire body.
Whether you ski, sail, wrestle with the kids, or fool around with
a partner, your abs are the most essential muscles for keeping
you from injury. The stronger they are, the stronger—and
safer—you are.