NationStates Jolt Archive

Good news?

CDC: Dangers of being overweight overstated (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3142605)

Being overweight is nowhere near as big a killer as the government thought, ranking No. 7 instead of No. 2 among the nation's leading preventable causes of death, according to a startling new calculation from the CDC.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated today that packing on too many pounds accounts for 25,814 deaths a year in the United States. As recently as January, the CDC came up with an estimate 14 times higher: 365,000 deaths.

The new analysis found that obesity — being extremely overweight — is indisputably lethal. But like several recent smaller studies, it found that people who are modestly overweight actually have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight.

Here's the actual article: "Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity" (http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/15/1861)

hmm...I find it hard to believe that someone even modestly overweight was not more at risk.

Okay but see, my problem is that if I am even modestly overweight, I'll have a likely chance of heart disease. Given my family history. I don't see how packing on pounds will help me in my case.

I refuse to read all of that, it looks boring. My guess would be, though, that the moderately overweight were more sedentary than regular people, and hence are in a lower risk group for accidental deaths. (Because they do less stuff, and sit around watching tv more).

This increase in safety by doing less is not off-set completely by the increased health risks (slight presumably) of being modestly overweight.

Secluded Islands: The CDC reccomended weights have been criticized before for being unrealistically low.

Lacadaemon: The study is for mortality attributable to weight, not accidental deaths, so that's not how it worked out.

Colodia: Of course other factors are in play.

Hmmm...I wonder if I count as "modestly overweight" at 6'3" and 269...I could stand to lose some, but it's hard when I don't wat at work and come home starving at 1 AM two hours before I go to bed.

I've heard that before.

I think it actually has more to do with the levels of activity rather than pure weight. A lazy skinny person can be far less healthy than an active overweight person simply because they don't work their muscles like they should.

I've heard that before.

I think it actually has more to do with the levels of activity rather than pure weight. A lazy skinny person can be far less healthy than an active overweight person simply because they don't work their muscles like they should.

It's almost certainly more than pure weight.

I've heard that before.

I think it actually has more to do with the levels of activity rather than pure weight. A lazy skinny person can be far less healthy than an active overweight person simply because they don't work their muscles like they should.

I can back this up. I'm pretty darn skinny, but I look like death warmed up... I'm obviously sickly. I get out of breath easily and lie down a lot. I have a terrible diet, too.