Obesity is a major contributor to heart disease, and increases the risk of death the heavier a woman weighs, finds a new study. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study followed over 90,000 women for an average of 7 years. The women were classified according to their Body Mass Index (BMI), or weight to height ratio -- as normal, overweight, or obese. The last classification had three categories of it's own -- obesity 1, obesity 2 and extreme obesity. Women in obese category 1 (BMI 30 to 34.9) are 12 percent more at risk of death compared to normal weight women. Those in the extreme obesity category (BMI 40 and up) are 86 percent more at risk of death than the norm. The dangerous effects of extreme obesity, which formally were not fully understood, are better known due to this study.
