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Causes of Death Linked To Weight

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the pick-your-poison dept.

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."

7 of 385 comments (clear)

  1. I'm not... by gbulmash · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not pigging out. I'm defending against Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

    Brilliant!

    --
    Start a happiness pandemic
    1. Re:I'm not... by Retric · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "And that lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease."

      Hmm, what about accidents? It seems like extremely overweight people tend to spend more time at home which probably lowers their risks from car / skydiving / whatever accidents. My guess is the low weight stay at home people probably live longer than fat stay at home people. Wonder if I could get a grant to study this...

    2. Re:I'm not... by BewireNomali · · Score: 5, Interesting

      the japanese are pretty long-lived, and tend to be pretty small. i heard life expectancy for the japanese drops when they adopt western eating habits (mostly consuming milk) which causes them to grow larger in addition to the fact that the western diet is nutritionally deficient relative to the tradition japanese one. also incidences of all prime causes of early mortality increase: heart disease, etc.

      also, women across all societies live longer than men. i think that while women tend to be smaller overall (than men), they tend to have higher BMIs, correct - in the sense that women carry more fat than men in general.

      i also read somewhere - and never was able to find it again - that death rates decreased in general the closer one's body mass got to 55kg. man, if i can find that link i'll post it.

      when i was a kid, i was undersized for a while - and there was an old lady who lived next door who saw me frustrated about not being big enough to ride the bike i'd gotten. i told her my frustration about being small and she said, "look at hte bright side. if you're small, you'll probably live a long time." Apparently there is some anecdote about living longer if you are smaller.

      not that anecdotal evidence means anything, but the japanese population is not an insignificant sample size. interestingly enough, on a biological level longevity is inversely associated with fertility (another factoid i read somehweree that i cannot substantiate at all - no flames please) - and the japanese have one of the lowest birth rates in the first world.

      again, no flames as i cannot substantiate these assertions and don't have the time to. But the japanese thing and the woman thing are pretty much documented as regards longevity.

      --
      un burrito me trampeó.
    3. Re:I'm not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'll take my chances on being thin, thanks.

      It's thin people like you, who clearly are too lazy to put in the effort to get obese, that fat asses like me are paying for with my medical insurance. It truly sickens me.

      Wow - I can see why thin people shout that kind of thing so often; it really is an ego kick, the superiority thing. It is nice to have a study to kinda wave around and get all preachy about - if only I could still raise my arm.

  2. Lower death rate? by seanadams.com · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, less than 100%?

  3. Re:it aint complicated by sam_handelman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I understand that no-one RTFA, but they corrected for that: and they did it correctly. That's not why.

      Oh, yes, I *actually do* biostatistics and know what I am talking about.

      Now, you are *correct* that there is no cause and effect established here!

      It's entirely possible that genes-which-make-you-thin are also genes-which-give-you-alzheimers, or that they are proxies for such genes.

      For example: being white makes you much more likely to have Cystic Fibrosis. This does not mean that getting a tan prevents CF.

    --
    The good and new comes from no quarter where it is looked for, and is always something different from what is expected.
  4. Re:Body Mass Index Not a Measure of Obesity by Volante3192 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.