Body Mass Index and Mortality From All Causes and Major Causes in Japanese: Results of a Pooled Analysis of 7 Large-Scale Cohort Studies

Background: We pooled data from 7 ongoing cohorts in Japan involving 353 422 adults (162 092 men and 191 330 women) to quantify the effect of body mass index (BMI) on total and cause-specific (cancer, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease) mortality and identify optimal BMI ranges for middle-aged and elderly Japanese.Methods: During a mean follow-up of 12.5 years, 41 260 deaths occurred. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to...