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Causes of Death Linked To Weight
An anonymous reader writes to mention that while a couple of years ago researchers found that overweight people have a lower death rate than people with a normal weight, it may be more complicated than that. "Now, investigating further, they found out which diseases are more likely to lead to death in each weight group. Linking, for the first time, causes of death to specific weights, they report that overweight people have a lower death rate because they are much less likely to die from a grab bag of diseases that includes Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, infections and lung disease. And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease."
Personally, with my current health state, I don't want to live forever. And yes, I live in what most believe to be the most technologically advanced society on the planet, however, medical technology ain't cheap. What good is top-notch health care if you can't afford it?
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
Just remember that the average height in the Western world has gone up significantly in the last century due to better nutrition. A lot of the really old people who are really short also didn't get the best quality, variety, or quantity of food when they were growing up, which is a contributing factor to their shortness.
I bet you the average height of men 80 or older has gone up at least 3 inches in the last 30-40 years. By the time you'd be 80, who knows where it will be?
Start a happiness pandemic
BMI combined with a shred of common sense is a perfectly fine approximation of obesity.
Maybe it's common sense that needs to be taught in schools then.
Seriously, now we're going to have to deal with a bunch of obese people pointing to this study as evidence of why they don't feel a need to lose weight.
Something's obviously missing in this study, because there is a positive correlation between average lifespan and obesity rates, both when comparing countries around the world and when comparing historical rates within this country. The simple fact is that all else being equal, the fatter a population is, the shorter its average lifespan. The United States, for example, ranks 42nd in world life expectancy - Japan, with much lower rates obesity and average weight, ranks #2. (Behind Andorra.)
Not to even mention other studies (like this one, for example) that show that being even moderately overweight can increase your risk of heart disease by more than 30% - and that's our nation's #1 killer. That's to say nothing of diabetes.
I'll take my chances on being thin, thanks. One study that appears to contradict all scientific knowledge we've accumulated to this point isn't going to change my mind.
First of all, I'd rather be physically fit even if doing so shortened my life a bit. The increased quality of life would still be worth it to me.
But you're very correct that BMI is a useless indicator of fitness.
I'm a tad over 40 years old. 4 months ago I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I drank 4-5 liters of Pepsi per day. I looked like a big blob of partially hydrogenated whale blubber, marinated in high fructose corn syrup made from genetically modified corn. I couldn't climb 2 flights of stairs, bench-press half my weight, or even take what I now consider to be a deep breath.
Knowing either it was this or insulin, I decided to hit the gym, and to give up the Pepsi. It's worked out very well for me. I've more than doubled my strength, and probably improved my cardiovascular endurance tenfold (I couldn't walk half a mile before; now I can power-walk for over an hour, although I still can't jog or run because the weight is too hard on my legs).
I feel infinitely better, and even look somewhat better.
Yet my weight only dropped slightly during this whole time, by about 10 pounds (from 215 to 205). Thus my BMI also changed only slightly. I've gained significant muscle mass, and thus lost significantly more than 10 pounds of fat. The increased muscle mass should, with any luck, help increase my metabolism, making it easier to burn the remaining excess fat. The BMI reflects none of this. According to the BMI, I was obese before, and only slightly less obese now. But I sure as hell do feel better, and it seems pretty certain that I will have a far better quality and quantity of life, assuming I keep up the present level of exercise (and don't get hit by a bus), than if I did not.
Nonaggression works!