News Flash: Excess Weight Gain Unhealthy

I'm not sure how many times I'll be able to do the ol' feigned-surprise-at-absurdly-obvious-study-results gag, so I'll just play this one straight. 

This month's issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, which I'm sure is arriving you your mailbox as I write this, features a study that links being overweight earlier in life with physical disabilities during one's golden years.

"In both men and women, being overweight or obese put them at greater risk of developing mobility limitations in old age, and the longer they had been overweight or obese, the greater the risk," said lead investigator Denise Houston, Ph.D., R.D., an assistant professor of gerontology at the School of Medicine and an expert on aging and nutrition. "We also found that, if you were of normal weight in old age but had previously been overweight or obese, you were at greater risk for mobility limitations."

I think that's great information and all, but isn't it kind of obvious?

Carrying extra weight can strain joints, hinder exercise and lead to chronic conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease, that are directly related to the development of mobility limitations, Houston said.

Okay, well, thanks for sharing.