Obesity Fatal for Non-Smoking Women

Although it is a well established fact that smoking leads to high mortality rates irrespective of gender. But now a research has shown that women who belong to the economically backward strata of society are at more risk from obesity than from smoking. According to the study women who belong to this social group and who are obese and have never smoked in their lifetime, are at risk of diseases that caused from being overweight and obese. This research has been headed by Dr Laurence Gruer from NHS Health Scotland.

For the research, the medical history of 3613 women who were aged between 35 and 64 was looked at. None of the women part of this sample had ever smoked. This sample was then classified on the basis of occupation was weight. It was observed that in the following 28 years half of the women who were part of the study had died. Out of them 51 % had died due to heart and respiration related diseases and another 27 % had died due to cancer.

It was also noticed that women who belonged to the lower occupational groups and who were non-smokers were at higher risk of being severely obese and dying due to heart related conditions. This result was arrived at after the non-smoking women were compared to the ones who smoked.

According to the researchers this study is not in any way an advocacy of the cancer stick because smoking has severe health complications. However, obesity and obesity related disorders do lead to health complications in women who belong to the lower occupational level, because obesity is more rampant in the lower classes of society and it continues to be the cause of high mortality rates. In these classes obesity becomes the killer in women and not smoking because of economical inequalities.

Although the research shows that obesity may prove fatal for women who have never smoked, but it must be remembered that this study is class based. It is not true for every woman. The important message from this study remains that obesity has the potential to turn into a killer and it should be avoided.

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