Joann Bally CSCS
A few weeks ago an article in JAMA had experts being quoted all over the press. It suggested that maybe being overweight wasn’t the worst thing that could
happen to you. Experts on one side responded that they had been saying all along that the dangers of overweight were overblown, while experts on the other
side said the study was worthless. This controversy has faded, as the press went on to other things, but it’s worth taking a closer look now.
The researchers reviewed data being gathered since 1971 that covered 2.5 million adults over 25 and came up with an analysis of 39,000 deceased people.
(Don’t ask me how they got their statistics.) Two basic questions were what was the subjects’ body mass index (BMI), and what did they die of? For BMI, they
used the standard criteria: under 18.5 is underweight, (normal comes here), 25-29 is overweight, 30 and over is obese. For cause of death, they used
cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and neither (which we will call other.) Here’s what they found.
Underweight: no association with death from CVD or cancer, but increased mortality from other causes
Overweight: no association with death from CVD or cancer, and decreased mortality from other
Obese: significant increase in death from CVD but no association with other or with cancer except for some deaths from cancers associated with fat
(breast, uterine, kidney, colon, esophageal, pancreatic)
Overweight and obese combined: increase in death from diabetes and kidney disease but decrease in other causes
So, being underweight is associated with higher risk of death from causes other than CVD or cancer (which would include pulmonary disease, infectious
diseases, accidents, and others). Being overweight, but not obese, has no effect on risk of death from cancer or CVD, and may be protective against death
from other causes. The slight increase in death from diabetes and kidney disease is overshadowed by the large protective effect against other causes. These
are the two most significant results of the study.
So maybe a few extra pounds aren’t so bad after all. And maybe this isn’t the whole story. What about other factors besides weight, such as fitness, stress
resistance, lifestyle, and genetics? What about a possible negative effect from unwise dieting?
Of course, there are other negative effects from obesity, such as increased disability. Obesity is bad for you. It’s the few extra pounds that maybe
shouldn’t worry you so much, especially if they come from muscle. (A few years ago, overweight was BMI 27-29, but it was changed. Millions of people went to
bed normal and woke up overweight.) Concentrate on eating a healthy diet, exercise, controlling stress, and an overall healthy lifestyle. BMI is not the only
thing to consider in achieving enhanced health and fitness.
Related using the H&F.com Search:
U.S. preschoolers are becoming obese
HEALTHandFITNESS.com 
