Posted on 06/25/2009 8:02:19 PM PDT by reaganaut1
Being overweight won’t kill you — it may even help you live longer. That’s the latest from a study that analyzed data on 11,326 Canadian adults, ages 25 and older, who were followed over a 12-year period.
The report, published online last week in the journal Obesity, found that overall, people who were overweight but not obese — defined as a body mass index of 25 to 29.9 — were actually less likely to die than people of normal weight, defined as a B.M.I. of 18.5 to 24.9.
By contrast, people who were underweight, with a B.M.I. under 18.5, were more likely to die than those of average weight. Their risk of dying was 73 percent higher than that of normal weight people, while the risk of dying for those who were overweight was 17 percent lower than for people of normal weight.
The finding adds to a simmering scientific controversy over the optimal weight for adults. In 2007, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute reported that overweight adults were less likely than normal weight adults to die from a variety of diseases, including infections and lung disease.
“Overweight may not be the problem we thought it was,” said Dr. David H. Feeny, a senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., and one of the authors of the study. “Overweight was protective.”
He said the finding may be due to the fact that a little excess weight is protective for the elderly, who are at greatest risk for dying, or because many health conditions associated with being overweight, like high blood pressure, are being treated with medication.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Dude those extra few years at the end of your life are not worth not looking good naked in your prime. Unless you’re married in which case who cares.
exactly! something that is true today will be false tomorrow.
common sense tells us that being too skinny and what amounts to undernourished cannot be healthy.
the problem is that the BMI ranges are simply too low. I don’t know how they were set, or who set them, but they are ridiculously scrawny. At the BMI’s normal weights a bad cold could do you in.
same excuse i have for not giving up my cigs. those few extra years aren’t worth not enjoying myself now.
EXACTLY....the BMI is a BAD measure....it does NOT account for MUSCLE mass and weight...
At the BMI’s normal weights a bad cold could do you in.
LMAO! thats so funny! and true.
I have often said that they need to lower the bar for what constitutes obese. women who look wonderful and healthy are now considered fat.....who gets to say what fat is?
Correct. Moderation is the key. I remember the pro=wrestler/actor The Rock’ on how he keeps in shape. He said he pumps weights, cardio 5 times a week and eats donuts on Saturday. The interviewer said ‘donuts?”. The Rock explained that you cant eat healthy foods everytime. One has to reward and give your body a break and he said he loves donuts.
This also reminds of another turn of studies when one year they said coffee is bad for you, then the next year, coffee is actually good for you with another study..
BTTT
Or excess pounds may not lead to a longer life.
/johnny
The BMI is a horribly flawed metric. The “overweight” range is actually the range most closely approximating a normal and healthy weight. People who have almost any muscle mass at all are almost automatically considered overweight while people who have never exercised in their life might be considered normal.
I swear the BMI index was developed by life and health insurance groups. To figure out how to get away with charging health people more.
Not only that, but they don’t take into account bone frames. I have a small frame and am a little overweight but my BMI is in the low range of normal. My husband has a large frame and is extremely muscular but he’s overweight.
I can’t wait until similar ups and downs in the medical literature are codified into government medical mandates. Beware centralization of power for any reason - in this case, the abandonment of decentralized alternative practice will only serve to render permanent all deficiencies in our scientific understanding.
I need to lose 25 pounds myself, but not 50 like the BMI says!
I don’t think this is the first time I have read an article like this one. More like the 20th or so.
Gaining weight with age is a pretty common phenomenon. Common sense tells you that it just might be common because it is protective in one or more ways.
I believe this. I kept getting infections after I took off weight after my youngest was born. My doctor let me have it to put on more weight because everytime I got an infection, I ended up in the hospital. He told me to go have a Big Mac and put on an extra 20 pounds and forget about the charts where I was at the low end because he said a person needed more weight then what they say. I put on the extra weight and have felt better ever since. No more infections except bronchitis from time to time but even that doesn’t hit me as hard.
Agreed. I always argue with my doctor that my BMI puts me at my 8th grade weight. Ain’t gonna get there again til after death.
“Excess Pounds, but Not Too Many, May Lead to Longer Life”
Then they’re NOT excess.
“This also reminds of another turn of studies when one year they said coffee is bad for you, then the next year, coffee is actually good for you with another study..”
I think it all depends on where you buy the coffee.
BTTT!
Cool. I can now eat like a pig and drink lots of wine and live to be 100.
If you're an overweight type II, I wouldn't take much comfort from this.
Less likely to die?
I thought we got one per.....
My son is very fit and muscular. He’s got a broad build that runs in the family and yet, based on weight, he’s in danger of becoming obese.
What a load of cr@p.
I fish in the Straight of Juan de Fuca were the water temp stays between 48 to 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Anyone that falls out of the boat is not likely going to last more than 20 minutes. Coast Guard rescue takes about 25 minutes to get to my fishing spots, and that’s if they are warmed up and ready to fly.
-moderate exercise helps one live longer. Sex and fishing is exercise.
-laughing can help you live longer.
-fish is a very heathy food and can help you live longer.
-drinking alcohol, in moderation, has been proven to help you live longer.
-a person that has no fat layer is not going to survive as long as one who does, should they fall out of my boat into that very cold water.
So, I conclude: When the bite is on, fish like there is no tomorrow, eat what you catch, drink an occasion beer while fishing, tell jokes and make fun of the guy that didn’t show up, keep a bit of a gut just in case you fall out of the boat, and then after fishing... well, uh..... do something nice for the little lady. ;>)
There, now live long and prosper....... and stay out of my fishing holes. ;>)
Being overweight won’t kill you — it may even help you live longer.This is the first good news all year.
Finally, some good news on FR for a change!
That's a point I saw someone raise once years ago. They said that heavier people just might be more fit than naturally thin people. The thin people weren't as likely to exercise because they didn't think they needed it even though everyone does.
Fitness isn't just about weight.
But why? There are also studies that show that for Pima Indians, who have extremely high rates of type 2 diabetes, those who are heaviest do better.
There are so many paradoxes in obesity and in diabetes, that patients and scientists, in particular, need to stop believing what they think is true, and find out what really is true. Our society is so prejudiced against fat people, that everything bad is attributed to the fatness. Our bodies are much more complicated than that.
If you think I am just looking for an excuse, I am not. I desperately want to lose weight, but I also would like to see some objectivity on the subject.
Could always do what I did. I went from 285-295 to 250 inside about 6-8 weeks. Then again, undiagnosed Type 1 can do that do you. I'm still losing it, just not as fast, and under control.
Ouch! No, I don’t want to do that. Hope you are doing better now.
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