Popular Science News – a study of 270,000 people who died has discovered that being ‘fat’ is good for you. Obesity is measured by calculating body mass index (BMI) and arbitrarily deciding that people with a BMI of 30 or more are clinically obese and those between 18.5 to 24.9 are ‘normal’. Between 25-29.9 are those people believed to be overweight.
As expected, those with a BMI of 35 or more had shorter life spans on average than those who were of normal weight. However, researchers discovered that people classified as overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9, died at slightly lower rates than the ‘normal’ people. They also discovered that those who were mildly obese, with a BMI of 30 to 34.9, died in no greater numbers than did their normal-weight peers.
There are several reasons for this, including the fact that highly muscular people have high BMIs which do not take into account their musculature. There is also the fact that carrying extra fat will protect people in accidents including falls and also increase survival rates in cases of heart and kidney failure.
This is yet another example of where living your life using ‘scientific’ principles could actually defeat the intended object, for example losing weight in order to live longer and ending up reversing you life expectancy!
To find you BMI use your height and weight to Calculate Your BMI
Recent Comments