Is being "overweight" not bad after all?

jrmartinezb

According to an analysis of nearly 100 studies, a higher BMI correlates to a decreased mortality rate. It turns out overweight and moderately obese people actually live more than thin people do.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2013/01/if_fat_is_unhealthy_why_are_overweight_people_less_likely_to_die.html

I found it a very interesting read. I think it confirms that BMI does not by itself give an appropriate measure of a person’s health. I quite agree with this from the editorial:

"Not all patients classified as being overweight or having grade 1 obesity, particularly those with chronic diseases, can be assumed to require weight loss treatment. Establishing BMI is only the first step toward a more comprehensive risk evaluation."

And with this from the slate article:

A decade from now, we’ll still believe fat is bad for you, but we’ll be far more sophisticated in what we mean by “bad” and “fat.”

Thoughts?

drmerc

seems like wishful thinking

Chief_Rocka

People tend to be thin shortly before death.

__RANDY__

the human mortality rate is actually 100%

UsedToBeHusky

My thoughts... is this a peer-reviewed controlled experiment or just another correlation study?

Because correlation does not equal causation.

jilliew

I saw a thing on the news a while ago about a new way doctors in Canada deal with obese patients. To cut to the point, some patients, like me, for instance, don't have any side effects of being obese - my blood pressure, sugar, cholesterol, etc etc is all perfectly fine. I go for a check up every year, and every year my doc sends me for a battery of tests, and every year he tells me I'm perfectly fine. I don't even have a particularily bad body image or self-esteem issues (no more than every other woman on the planet, really).

However, I have a history of heart disease and cancer in my family, and I don't want to give these heridtary things any more of a chance than they have, so I'm trying to be healthy. I also realize that the longer one is obese that more likely they are to develope problems. I might be healthy right now, so I might as well nip the problem in the bud while I can. I want to have kids eventually, and I want to give them a healthy head start. I feel physically less fatigued and gross when I eat right and get some excersize. So here I am.

juliec33

I haven't read the article that you put a link too but have seen various articles on this subject over the last few days. Don't they differentiate between an "overweight" BMI vs. an "obese" BMI? I think people use obese and overweight interchangeably even though they don't really mean the same thing.

bcattoes

the human mortality rate is actually 100%

No, it is not. A specific time frame is need to calculate mortality rate. While there may come a day when 100% of the human population dies, that day has not yet come.

Jaulen

I haven't read the article that you put a link too but have seen various articles on this subject over the last few days. Don't they differentiate between an "overweight" BMI vs. an "obese" BMI? I think people use obese and overweight interchangeably even though they don't really mean the same thing.

They actually show a difference between overwight, and an obese BMI...and they further broke the obese BMI down into slightly, moderately and very. The lowered risk of death was only statistically significant for the overweight and slightly obese BMIs.

MinnieInMaine

The link's not working for me...

MissJanet55

I have heard of people who are very fit and muscular being considered overweight or obese by BMI numbers, because they are heavy. So that might have skewed it a bit.

But I think it is possible to be healthy at different weights. Like another poster here, I am clearly too heavy, but my blood pressure, resting heart rate and cholesterol and all slightly lower than average. And being thin doesn't necessarily mean being healthy, either - I'm sure we all know people who are slender who are not active.

I believe good health comes from being active and eating well, no matter what size we are.

rml_16

the human mortality rate is actually 100%

NNNOOOOOO!!!!!

omma_to_3

That was an interesting read! What's good in averages, isn't necessarily what's good for an individual, but I won't feel too bad about getting just to the upper range of normal :-)

bcattoes

Here is a link to the JAMA article on the study: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1555137

But the headlines may be somewhat misleading.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/

A recent JAMA study got major media attention when it claimed that grade 1 obesity (BMI 30-<35) was not associated with any greater mortality, than being normal weight (BMI 18.5-<25). The authors also concluded that people who are up to 30 pounds overweight appear to have a lower risk of death than those who are within the normal BMI range for healthy weight. Many news articles or segments claimed that the study should come as a relief to those constantly struggling to lose weight because their extra pounds could actually be helping their health! Other sources have suggested that we need to re-organize our BMI ranges to reflect the study’s results, moving grade 1 obesity into a normal or healthy range. But our expert, HSPH’s Nutrition Department Chair, Dr. Walter Willett, explained that the study’s results are flawed and extremely misleading. In the following questions and responses, partially published by USAToday, Willett details the study’s weaknesses and provides advice to those who are overweight and possibly confused by these new findings. Read more about maintaining a healthy weight, what the BMI means, and explore ways to prevent obesity.

Q: Why do you think the research indicates that people who are overweight may actually have a lower risk of premature death?

A: The most serious problem in the Flegal paper is that their normal weight group included a mix of lean and active people, heavy smokers, patients with cancer or other conditions that cause weight loss, and frail elderly people who had lost weight due to rapidly declining health. Because the overweight and obese groups were compared to this mix of healthy and ill persons who have a very high risk of death, this led to the false conclusions that being overweight is beneficial, and that grade 1 obesity carries no extra risk. Also, because the Flegal study did not use the original data from the published papers, they could not look separately at different age groups, and we know that the relation between body weight and mortality is much stronger before age 65 than at older ages.

Q: Do you think the new statistics are accurate? If not, why?

A: The new statistics are completely misleading for anyone interested in knowing about their optimal weight. As discussed above, the fundamental reason is that the authors did not adequately separate people who are lean because they are ill from those who lean because they are active and healthy. This will inevitably lead to wrong conclusions about the effects of body weight on risk of premature death. Stated politely, the paper is a pile of rubbish.

sozisfitnow

the human mortality rate is actually 100%

lol too true!

sozisfitnow

People tend to be thin shortly before death.

Thats why thinness in later life can look very ugly!

bcattoes

People tend to be thin shortly before death.

Thats why thinness in later life can look very ugly!

But it doesn't have to.

mpenner61

I had read similar study a couple of days ago that came to the conclusion that people that were 10 to 15 pounds "overweight" based on the latest classifications of BMI had a lower mortality rate than than those that were in the "normal" classification. Those that were "moderately obese" had nearly the same mortality rate as those in the "normal" classification. Those that were heavier than "moderately obese" had a higher mortality rate as those in the "normal" classification.

I am not convinced that we understand all the complexities of human health and proper nutrition; however I have recently quit using that as a justification to eat 'Twinkies.

BellaFe

Woohoo I'm otta here!

groversa

Then don't strive to be "thin", strive to be strong.

corrinnebrown

I am overweight and I work hard to not be. I can tell you that I am in better shape than a lot of my friends that are skinny. I can run 3 miles and they can't do half. I bust my *kitten* on Jillian Michaels push ups and they can't do 2. I am "healthier" than they are by what I eat and do. Even if my BMI is higher than theirs.