Furthermore, the study found: “[As] many as 20 years of life for men can be lost by failing to sustain your waistline. The figure is approximately 10 years for women.”
Professor Rickayzen, Professor of Actuarial Science at Bayes, added: “While this new guidance is welcome, it is vitally important that we quantify the years of life it is estimated people will lose by being obese, taking into account their waist to height ratio, age and gender.
“Our findings showed that up to 20 years of life can be lost by not maintaining a sustainable waistline. For example, the average 30-year-old, 5ft 10in tall man should have a waist of no more than 35in. This would put him in the healthy category. If his waist expanded to 42in or 60 percent of his height, he risked losing 1.7 years of life and if it increased to 56in he could die 20.2 years earlier.
“While it is positive that our findings are now being recommended by NICE, it is important that the final report outlines how many years of life people stand to lose by not keeping their waist trim.”