weight subjects, obese subjects had 1.6-times the risk of death or hospital admission; 2.0-times the risk of heart failure; 1.4-times the risk of stroke; 2.3-times the risk a blood clot; and 1.8-times the risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm. Over the follow-up period, the researchers calculate, for every 100 middle-age obese men there were 9 additional cardiovascular deaths and 36 cardiovascular hospitalizations. The corresponding figures in women were 7 deaths and 28 admissions. The investigators note that obesity was measured at study entry only and participants may have become obese later, leading to underestimation of the effects. The team also found that there were 3- or 4-times as many hospital admissions as deaths related to obesity, noting that the rising rates of obesity may have a very large impact "not only on individual health but on the hospital sector."
