Biological ageing is a process that occurs inside the body, making changes to the processes and shortening lifespan. The significant factors contributing to early ageing are rooted in nutrition, environmental factors, and fitness.
Obesity is a factor affecting biological ageing, and this article will show how that happens.
What Is BMI?
BMI is body mass index, and it is a value that measures the ratio between your weight and height to determine how healthy you are. Although heavyweight is a measure of healthiness, it isn’t a standard measure because it doesn’t account for the differences in body size. For example, 90kg is healthy and unhealthy, depending on the person’s body structure.
Note that BMI sometimes doesn’t accurately assess someone’s healthiness because it can’t differentiate between muscle and body fat. So, an individual could be more muscle than fat and still have a BMI value above 30 even though they have more muscle than fat. For a more accurate measurement, it is better to take biological age testing.
BMI is calculated by dividing the weight by the height. For example, a weight of 90kg or 198 pounds and a height of 5’7 which is 1.70cm
BMI = 31
Alternatively, you can always use a BMI calculator to calculate yours. Input the requested information and get your BMI value instantly.
There’s a range of BMIs as it concerns healthiness. The NHS says that the ideal BMI value of someone with a healthy weight is between 18.5 and 24.9. BMIs could be greater or less than the ideal range. Here’s a quick range explanation to help you figure out where you stand.
| BMI Value | Indication |
| Less than 18.5 | Underweight |
| Between 18.5 and 24.9 | Healthy weight |
| Between 25 and 29.9 | Overweight |
| 30 and above | Obese |
Following this chart, it’s easy to see how two people could weigh 90kg and still have different BMIs. Factors affecting BMI include nutrition, physical activity, environment, height, etc.
What Does BMI Have To Do With Ageing?
Telomere length is one of the measurable indicators of ageing and lifespan. It has an inverse relationship with ageing and lifespan, so telomere shortening accelerates the ageing process.
One factor affecting telomere shortening is inflammation and oxidative stress, which can be caused by obesity. In leukocytes, telomere shortening is linked to smoking and obesity.
A high BMI of 30 and above is indicative of obesity which leads to inflammation and telomere shortening. The higher your BMI, the more accelerated telomere shortening becomes and the faster your cells age. Obesity also alters DNA methylation patterns, increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases later. It also increases the risk of passing obesity on to offspring as a genetic trait.
The excellent news is telomere shortening. All the adverse side effects can be stopped and reversed with appropriate lifestyle changes, especially concerning nutrition. What you can do to reverse these signs of biological ageing is to lose weight and maintain a healthy BMI through dieting and exercise.
Exercise
Staying fit is an integral part of losing weight because it helps build muscle which uses up stored-up fat in the body. It also helps by cutting down on daily calories consumed daily.
Eat A Balanced Diet
A balanced diet is crucial to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. It accounts for 80% of the work required to lose weight. A balanced diet should contain little fat, proteins, and vegetables in the appropriate quantities.
Conclusion
Body mass Index is a scale of how unhealthy a person is based on their weight and height. This value classifies people as obese, healthy, or underweight. By association, high BMI indicates obesity accelerates ageing by shortening telomeres and increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.