About two years ago, some federal researchers from the CDC announced that people considered overweight (that is, with a B.M.I. of 25 to 30) had lower death rates from respiratory disease, lung cancer, injuries and other causes. The same team has investigated further and demonstrated that, despite increased risks for kidney issues and heart disease, this weight class is overall less likely to die from a whole list of diseases beyond those originally listed (including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s).
Overall, it’s great news for those individuals who are overweight. There are even some arguments that this information shows that weights thought of as overweight may be more optimal, according to Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, a professor of preventative medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Other doctors, though, say that in the big picture, mortality levels don’t make weight such a great thing. They point to quality of life factors, as well as increased risk for chronic illness.
This research doesn’t support obesity, to be clear. Lowered mortality rates were found in individuals who were moderately overweight. For an example, if you were 5 feet, 3 inches tall, normal weight would fall between 110 and 140 pounds. You would be classified as overweight if your weight fell between 140 and 180.
The study isn’t necessarily definitive, though. Other factors can affect mortality rates, beyond simple weight, and the researchers direct individuals to consult their personal doctors when making decisions about weight loss. Guess I can’t give up on exercise yet.
(6 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
Loading ...
To be notified by email when there are new blog entries, 
4 Comments
Write a Comment»Im not trying to rain on anybody’s parade here, but there is no possible way to die from Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Those diseases affect your brain and your intrapersonal functions, not your ability to live. Wether your over-weight or under-weight, you cannot possibly die from either of those 2 diseases. And for the statistics that show lower death rates from respiratory disease, lung cancer, and injuries and other causes, possibly it was coincidental that you only studied people who smoke ?(always gotta think about the variables), and maybe these people were over-weight because they didn’t exercise, which would result in the obvious less amount of injuries. [Just my Theory/Opinion]
Yes, Alzhimers and Parkinsons DO kill you, I know this because I have worked and studied dementia and it’s causes. These dieseases are a long, slow death scentance for a patient. Their brains decay at varying rates and the same thing that causes the interpersonal problems also cause the memories of bodily fuction to decay. At the end of such a disease the patient becomes little more than a vegetable in the bed until they just literaly forget to breathe, or their heart forgets to beat. It is a degenerative disease and always results in death, you cannot stop the decay and the break down in the nueral pathways…
Indeed, given enough time people with Alzheimer’s will eventually forget how to perform basic bodily functions such as chew.
There are many factors that cause poor health, and unfortunately, being overweight is one of them). One cannot disregard the abudence of research which points to this conclusion.