If the results of recent health research are correct, we need to revise our criteria for assessing Body Mass Index.
People who are currently classified as overweight may live longer than "normal" people do. High risk may only come from extreme obesity - that is BMI's of 35 or more.
Research teams from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the National Cancer Institute correlated death rates and BMI. They published their work early in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The teams found:
The lowest death rates occurred in people whose body mass index was between 25 and 29 - currently 'overweight'.
The ideal body weight, with the smallest risk of dying early, is a BMI of 25. This is on the current borderline between normal and overweight.
The researchers believe the study is the most rigorous ever carried out - it takes account of age, sex, race, smoking and drinking. The researchers also took account of improvements in healthcare including cholesterol-lowering drugs.
The authors suggest older people may need more body fat than previously thought desirable. Higher reserves of fat may pull them through illnes when they cannot eat normally.
The study suggests it is not fatness but fitness that is plays a part in determining how long you can live.
Some medics are uncomfortable with the conclusions from the study and say that it may lead to complacency about the growing numbers of people who suffer from extreme obesity.
Source/Author Info: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is copyright of allhealthtopics.com. All rights are reserved under international copyright law.
