What’s wrong with weight gain?

Having a high BMI doesn’t necessarily mean a person is unhealthy. Still, the correlations are strong: As obesity surged over the past three decades, U.S. diabetes rates tripled, and now more than 100 million adults have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Research suggests that obese people are between 1.5 and 2 times more likely to die of heart disease. Other illnesses linked to obesity include high blood pressure, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, sexual dysfunction, and at least 13 types of cancer. Excess body fat is associated with higher insulin levels, which may spur cell growth and, in turn, increase the probability of cancer; the American Cancer Society believes excess weight is linked to about 7 percent of cancer deaths, and obesity will soon overtake smoking as the top preventable cause of cancer.