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Story 05/02/2026 17:38

Being overweight increases your chances of developing 61 life-limiting diseases, finds new study

Being overweight increases your chances of developing 61 life-limiting diseases, finds new study

Obesity contributes to 86 per cent of long-term health conditions, claim the authors of a new paper investigating the link between weight and chronic illnesses. In the largest study-of-its-kind, researchers found excess weight is the 'major driving force' between commonly occurring and potentially life-threatening conditions including chronic kidney diseases, osteoarthritis and diabetes. The researchers used the genetic and healthcare data of thousands of people who had taken part in previous studies and found that obesity - defined as a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 - contributed to 61 of the 71 combinations, roughly 86 per cent. They found that for every 1,000 people with chronic kidney disease and osteoarthritis, lowering BMI by 4.5 points could prevent about 17 people from developing both conditions. The same BMI reduction could also prevent about 9 people per 1,000 from developing type 2 diabetes and osteoarthritis. The team added that this research should reinforce the importance of weight management on the NHS, with obesity already estimated to cost the country around £100bn a year, including £19bn in NHS costs. 'Our work shows that this could reduce the risk of accumulating multiple health conditions, supporting people to live longer, healthier lives.' It comes as experts have warned that as many as nine million are at heightened risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney failure because they're living with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome - which linked heart disease, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. When these conditions occur together, they dramatically accelerate damage to the heart, blood vessels and kidneys. Yet CKM does not have formal status within the NHS. Instead, patients are typically treated for each illness separately – a fragmented approach clinicians say leaves people unaware of their true level of risk and delays potentially life-saving intervention. Estimates suggest a further 40 million adults could go on to develop the syndrome in the coming years.

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