Anger amongst experts after study claims being overweight will give you a longer life
39 replies, posted
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20889381[/url]
[quote=BBC News][B]A study which suggests being overweight can lead to a longer life has caused controversy among obesity experts.[/B]
One labelled the findings a "pile of rubbish" while another said it was a "horrific message" to put out.
The research, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggested the overweight were less likely to die prematurely than people with a "healthy" weight.
Being underweight or severely obese did cut life expectancy.
The researchers at the US National Centre for Health Statistics looked at 97 studies involving nearly 2.9 million people to compare death rates with Body Mass Index (BMI) - a way of measuring obesity using a person's weight and height.
A healthy BMI is considered to be above 18.5 and below 25. However, overweight people (with a BMI between 25 and 30) were 6% less likely to die early than those considered to have a healthy weight, the study reports.
Mildly obese people (BMI between 30 and 35) were no more likely to die prematurely than people with a healthy BMI.
The study said being "overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality".
Possible explanations included overweight people getting medical treatment, such as to control blood pressure, more quickly or the extra weight helping people survive being severely ill in hospital.
However, the researchers point out they looked only at deaths and not years spent free of ill-health.
[B]Unconvinced[/B]
On Tuesday, the Royal College of Physicians called for the UK to rethink the way it tackles obesity.
Prof John Wass, vice-president of the college, said: "Have you ever seen a 100-year-old human being who is overweight? The answer is you probably haven't."
He said the largest people will have died years before and pointed to health problems and higher levels of Type 2 diabetes.
"Huge pieces of evidence go against this, countless other studies point in the other direction."
Other experts criticised the research methods.
"Some portion of those thin people are actually sick, and sick people tend to die sooner," according to Donald Berry, from the University of Texas
Dr Walter Willett, from the Harvard School of Public Health said: "This is an even greater pile of rubbish" than a study conducted by the same group in 2005.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum in the UK, said: "It's a horrific message to put out at this particular time.
"We shouldn't take it for granted that we can cancel the gym, that we can eat ourselves to death with black forest gateaux."[/quote]
I'm not sure about this one. It may very well be true, but I'm going to wait for more studies/information.
Smurfy, your title for this thread is just wrong.
The study claimed that being overweight is associated with a higher life expectancy and mild obesity isn't associated with a different life expectancy.
There is a big difference between being overweight and obese.
(Edit. I was wrong in my wording)
[QUOTE=Repulsion;39067227]I'm not sure about this one. It may very well be true, but I'm going to wait for more studies/information.[/QUOTE]
This articley is the biggest brick of bullshit I have seen.
Because Diabetes is really easy to catch and it fucks you up, also it's uncurable.
WHO CARES
GABE NEWELL LIVES LONGER
[QUOTE=Valnar;39067347]Smurfy, your title for this thread is just wrong.
The study claimed that being overweight can cause a higher life expectancy and mild obesity doesn't affect life expectancy.
There is a big difference between being overweight and obese.[/QUOTE]
shutup fatty
[QUOTE=Valnar;39067347]Smurfy, your title for this thread is just wrong.
The study claimed that being overweight can cause a higher life expectancy and mild obesity doesn't affect life expectancy.
There is a big difference between being overweight and obese.[/QUOTE]
You don't read a lot of Smurfy threads do you?
The real question here is why a professional organization is using the BMI as if it's a reliable statistic.
Maybe because they do less and usually don't climb Everest, go skydiving, drive a lot for fun and all that stuff.
You know, partake in less risky activities.
[editline]2nd January 2013[/editline]
Correlation not causation, in other words.
I can't put on weight. YOU MOTHERFUCKERS HELP ME ON THIS PLEASE!
Whomp shall live on forever!
[QUOTE=Lizzrd;39067491]Maybe because they do less and usually don't climb Everest, go skydiving, drive a lot for fun and all that stuff.
You know, partake in less risky activities.
[editline]2nd January 2013[/editline]
Correlation not causation, in other words.[/QUOTE]
The study never claimed that being overweight would guarantee a longer life, only that being "overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality".
The study suggests "that the excess mortality in obesity may predominantly be due to elevated mortality at higher BMI levels". The study is suggesting that it is possible that our current bounds on what is considered healthy weights may be wrong because there is inflation from the mortality rate of really high end weights.
They should have used body fat % instead. I among lots of other men have are slightly overweight (I've got 26.5) by bmi and still have a low body fat. And they should have looked how much illness & medical care they have had instead of looking solely death rates. You've got to be a pretty fat fucker to die at 50 yrs old
due obesity, but you're very lucky if you're obese and haven't had any health issues due to it when you hit 50.
Also they should have defined in the news what they meant by "premature death".
[QUOTE=Valnar;39067347]Smurfy, your title for this thread is just wrong.
The study claimed that being overweight can cause a higher life expectancy and mild obesity doesn't affect life expectancy.
There is a big difference between being overweight and obese.[/QUOTE]
It claims correlation, not causation.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;39067545]Whomp shall live on forever![/QUOTE]
His name is not whomp
I think I'll wait for other studies to come out and agree with this before I attempt to gain weight. Surely being overweight would increase your chance of heart disease?
[QUOTE=ThePuska;39067624]It claims correlation, not causation.[/QUOTE]
You're right, my wording was wrong in that post.
I've fixed it, thanks.
[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;39067490]The real question here is why a professional organization is using the BMI as if it's a reliable statistic.[/QUOTE]
This. You can look like this:
[img]http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/61004/105077900/stock-photo-muscular-man-holding-black-container-of-training-supplements-105077900.jpg[/img]
and have the same BMI as a fat man
I'm on the brink of being considered underweight. Guess my time is gonna come sooner than expected.
Only the good die young :v:
I remember reading something about this 3 or 4 years ago.
They summarized the findings as this. People who have a little fat on them live longer for a couple of weird counter intuitive reasons. They handle stress better in many cases. Get really sick? So sick you aren't eating? You've got a little reserve to tap into. Same deal with just being highly stressed out and not eating correctly. That sort of thing. Being just a little fat also improved survival rates in car accidents. Touch of padding.
The fat people weren't as 'healthy', but the 'healthy' people weren't as resistant to non ideal circumstances. Also, I should mention that the study noted that you had to be fit to see the benefits of this. People who were very active physically and had good cardio/endurance/strength saw benefits while those who were not didn't seem to.
Can't find the study offhand or I'd link it. It was some really interesting stuff.
Seems like common sense to me. Obese = more nutrients to live off = more living, it's clear as day. All them dead motherfuckers just sucked at eating delicious food.
Oh, and, shipwrecked in freezing cold water? How do you think whales survive? Exactly. The obese are built for survival.
[QUOTE=JgcxCub;39067645]His name is not whomp[/QUOTE]
No but his comic is. You're also overthinking it.
I know plenty of people who are thin, but in terrible shape. I would say that you would live far longer by being in good shape, than being slightly overweight.
The study is being taken completely out of context by some. The reason overweight people are living "longer" is because they have more apparent health issues and visit their physicians more frequently.
A thin man and an overweight man may both have arteries clogged. The latter is more likely to see a cardiologist.
No. Healthy people live the longest, that's a fact.
[QUOTE=FZE;39068246]Seems like common sense to me. Obese = more nutrients to live off = more living, it's clear as day. All them dead motherfuckers just sucked at eating delicious food.
Oh, and, shipwrecked in freezing cold water? How do you think whales survive? Exactly. The obese are built for survival.[/QUOTE]
The extra (esp. fat soluble) nutrients would simply be used to conserve the extra tissue. The other nutrients leave the body through excrement and urine as normal. Given the increased incidence of hormonal issues, if anything an overweight person is probably going to be less efficient with their nutrients than a normal sized person.
[editline]2nd January 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=lapsus_;39068292]No. Healthy people live the longest, that's a fact.[/QUOTE]
You've got the right idea. Most people don't seem to understand that healthy ≠ thin, healthy ≠ overweight, healthy ≠ "normal-size". A little extra adiposity doesn't make one suddenly more unhealthy than another. A man who is entirely sedentary who eats two Big Macs a day may not be as large as one who eats baked fish and rice (and other healthy foods) in slight excess, but he's sure to be less healthy as a result of his diet.
[QUOTE=Biotoxsin;39068317]The extra (esp. fat soluble) nutrients would simply be used to conserve the extra tissue. The other nutrients leave the body through excrement and urine as normal. Given the increased incidence of hormonal issues, if anything an overweight person is probably going to be less efficient with their nutrients than a normal sized person.[/QUOTE]
Hey, Bill Gates can afford to be less efficient with his money yadadI'msayin though?
[QUOTE=Valnar;39067347]Smurfy, your title for this thread is just wrong.
The study claimed that being overweight is associated with a higher life expectancy and mild obesity isn't associated with a different life expectancy.
There is a big difference between being overweight and obese.
(Edit. I was wrong in my wording)[/QUOTE]
I didn't know obesity was a different thing. I've asked Gran PC to fix it
we're counting on you Gran PC
Bullshit.
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