The study, led by researchers from Bristol Medical School’s Population Health Sciences, aimed to find out the impact of excess body fat on the yearly hospital admission rate in the UK by analysing body mass index (BMI) data — a marker of overall body fat — and waist-hip ratio (WHR) data — a marker of regional body fat — from 310,471 individuals within the UK Biobank cohort. Linked with this data was information on 550,000 UK inpatient hospital admissions, with participants followed up for an average of six years.
Their results found evidence for a direct causal effect of higher BMI and WHR on higher yearly hospital admission rates, with estimates that were larger than those obtained from existing research. One of the team’s most striking discoveries showed the relationship was largely driven by an adverse fat distribution in a certain area (measured by waist-hip ratio) rather than overall BMI.
The study was funded through grants from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research, the Medical Research Council, and The Wellcome Trust.