Slim less likely to survive surgery

People who are underweight have a 40 percent higher risk of dying in the first month after surgery than patients who are overweight, according to new research.

The findings suggest that body mass index, or BMI, may be useful in predicting which patients are at the greatest risk while recovering from surgery, US researchers report in the Archives of Surgery.

Prior studies looking at the role of BMI in surgery have been mixed, says George Stukenborg of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, who worked on the study.

"Patients with low BMI are at higher risk of death 30 days after surgery," Stukenborg says.

The researchers used data on nearly 190,000 patients who underwent a variety of surgeries at 183 hospitals between 2005 and 2006.

BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 are normal weight, those with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are overweight, and those with a BMI of 30 and above are obese.

Reuters