Heftier People Live Longer

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
An article in today's NYTimes states that:

"People who are overweight but not obese have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight, federal researchers are reporting today.

The researchers - statisticians and epidemiologists from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - also found that increased risk of death from obesity was seen for the most part in the extremely obese, a group constituting only 8 percent of Americans.

And being very thin, even though the thinness was longstanding and unlikely to stem from disease, caused a slight increase in the risk of death, the researchers said.

The new study, considered by many independent scientists to be the most rigorous yet on the effects of weight, controlled for factors like smoking, age, race and alcohol consumption in a sophisticated analysis derived from a well-known method that has been used to predict cancer risk."


From my perspective, this is not surprising. I don't think being heavy is actually good for you, but I do think that thin people often have more nervous/hyper kinds of personalities, and that heavier people (but not obese) are more relaxed and enjoy life more. Just MHO.

If you want to read the whole article, you can sign up for the NYTimes at www.nytimes.com.
 
Wow! That's very interesting! Thanks for posting that Nancy.
I've read that back in the early 1900's having meat on your bones was considered extremely healthy and being thin was considered the opposite. Hmmmmm....
 
I am thin & definitely hyper. But what I don't get is, if you're heavy, doesn't that put more of a strain on the heart? I know the article said it controlled for other factors, but I just don't see how. I need more info to believe this, like how broad was the study? How did they conduct the controls? What were their genetic histories? etc. etc.
 
I do tend to agree with you. Many people I know who are very thin are very stressed. There is nothing wrong with a little meat on your bones, I got some junk in my trunk for sure, however having too much extra weight is hard on your heart. I guess you have to do everything in moderation, not sweat the small stuff, and eat a piece of chocolate cake every now and again...
Since we are on the topic...
My sister did a study in college about obesity and diabetes in children and found in her research that most overweight children, and adults, are malnourished. Interesting....
Another thing DSister found was in studying other countries and obesity is that in the English Medical Journal, one of the doctors writing a column said that, and this is not verbatum but is accurate, we (the English) need to do something about our eating habits or we will join the diabetes epidemic taking over America. Scary. That makes me never want to eat another scoop of ice cream again. but I will. :p
 
Wow, interesting. Maybe it has something to do with when illness strikes a below weight person they don't have the strength nor nutritional reserves to effectively cope with their disease.

Lori
 
Lori-
The definitions used in the study were based upon the BMI tables. The people with slightly lower life expectancies were the NORMAL weight people on those tables, not just the underweight people. The people with the highest life expectancies are those who fall between "Normal" and "Obese", in the category called "Overweight" on the BMI tables.
 
I heard this on the radio this morning and had to chuckle because of all the people on this site who want to know how to lose that last ten pounds...including myself.

My doctor told me that women who are a little on the plumper side will not be as succeptible to osteoporosis. She was saying about 5 to 10 lbs overweight...not more than that.
 
It seems to me it depends on what "kind" of thin you are. Of course those people who are extremely thin through unhealthy lifestyle choices aren't going to live as long. but if you are thin because you are physically fit thin, then I would see no reason why you wouldn't live just as long as that physically fit person who happens to carry a couple extra pounds. whereas you can be that person with just a little extra weight and be incredibly unhealthy and in need of surgery due to cholesterol and heart problems.
maddie
 
>x( x( x( x( x( x( x(
>
>I am not buying it....sorry. This girl wants to live
>allllooonnnggg time!
>
>Charlotte~~


I don't buy it either, especially since if you look at the old folks who are around, there aren't a lot of heavy ones.
 
Nancy, I wonder why that is. I just can't wrap my head around it. :) I guess there is an answer. Pretty neat stuff though.

Lori
 
I would take this and the original article mentioned in this thread with a 'grain of salt.' There are just too many variables involved besides body weight to predict longevity. Those of us who are devoted Catheites don't really fall into any category. We are not skinny or obese. We most likely have more muscle mass than the average person and thus our body mass index may be falsley inflated making us possibly fall into the mildly over weight category.

For now, I'm not buying this as truth. I don't plan on gainning weight to live longer.

Judy
AKA "Likes2bfit"
sport-smiley-009.gif
http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif
 
Yeah, I don't see a lot of people doing that. :) I agree with you Judy.

Remember the studies not too long ago with the underweight persons are less likely to develop cancer? I am not saying these findings aren't valid, but you gotta wonder.

Lori
 
I heard this on the news and wondered if diet plays a role. As heavier people probably consume enough calories to get the nutrients that are required. Many thin people have diets that eliminate foods or just don't have enough variety. I think if you are thinner and pay attention to what you eat and take vitamins regularly, that you can be very healthy. I just hate the way what is best for us changes all of the time. I have family that lived on farms with real cream and butter, plenty of beef and chicken, and loads of corn and wheat. They lived to be fairly old. Although I don't think they ate a lot of the additives we do now. Just a thought. I prefer doing most of my own cooking from scratch so I know what is in it.
Diane Sue

http://wd.1ww.us
 
It's just one theory, but I look at my DH. He's overweight, happy-go-lucky, always relaxed, rarely gets upset about anything, never obsesses, eats what he wants, bike rides in the summer because he loves it, and thoroughly enjoys his life.

Then there's me. Most of my life I've been pretty obsessive about what I eat, I watch the scale like a hawk, I'm moody and I worry a lot. I'm a neat freak. I'm high maintenance and happiness does not come naturally to me.

I used to drive my DH crazy about what he ate and losing weight because I worried about him and he used to say that he was much more worried about me because I'm so stressed out. I realized he had a point and stopped bugging him.

Bottom line: In terms of our health, I may have a physical advantage over my DH, but I think he has an emotional/personality advantage over me. In short, it's perfectly possible he could out-live me!

See my point?
 
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