COLUMBUS, Ohio — The key to packing extra years onto your life may be packing on the pounds, according to a new study from The Ohio State University.
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According to studyfinds.org, the study suggests that people who "enter adulthood at a normal weight and start to pack on the pounds later in life actually live the longest."
Following more than 8,000 people over two generations of Americans for almost 70 years, the study found that young adults with a healthy body mass index who later became overnight, but not obese, lived longer than those with a normal BMI their entire lives.
“The main message is that for those who start at a normal weight in early adulthood, gaining a modest amount of weight throughout life and entering the overweight category in later adulthood can actually increase the probability of survival,” said Ohio State associate professor of sociology Hui Zheng.
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Body Mass Index is based on a person's height and weight.
The study did confirm that children who were already obese when starting childhood and continue to gain weight face the highest mortality rates.
