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Can fat kill you? The conventional wisdom is that being overweight — or worse, obese — greatly increases your risk of dying from diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Recent research, however, has shown that’s not necessarily the case.
A recent USA Today article summarized current research on the subject:
Being 25 pounds overweight doesn’t appear to raise your risk of dying from cancer or heart disease, says a new government study that seems to vindicate Grandma’s claim that a few extra pounds won’t kill you. Released just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, the findings might comfort some who can’t seem to lose those last 15 pounds. And they hearten proponents of a theory that it’s possible to be “fit and fat.”
The news isn’t all good: Overweight people do have a higher chance of dying from diabetes and kidney disease. And people who are obese — generally those more than 30 pounds overweight for their height — have a higher risk of death from a variety of ills, including some cancers and heart disease.
However, having a little extra weight actually seemed to help people survive some illnesses — results that baffled several leading health researchers.
[…]
It was the second study by the same government scientists who two years ago first suggested that deaths from being too fat were overstated. The new report further analyzed the same data, this time looking at specific causes of death along with new mortality figures from 2004 for 2.3 million U.S. adults.
While this study is comforting for those who have a high body mass index (BMI), but who are otherwise fit, it shouldn’t be viewed as license to binge. In fact, it’s important to remember that a healthy weight isn’t the ultimate goal of a fitness program. You should be seeking a healthy lifestyle.
A few weeks ago, Mac revealed that his BMI is 31.6. I computed mine today: 31.0. I, too, am mildly obese according to this metric. Mac calculated that he could achieve a “healthy” BMI in 24-48 weeks. My personal goal is to achieve a weight “around” 160 pounds. Mac wants to lose 47 pounds. I want to lose 44. We both want healthy, sustainable lifestyles.
The actual weight isn’t that important to me — it’s the slow, sure lifestyle change.
[USA Today: A few extra pounds won’t kill you]
Mac
7 responses so far ↓
1 Ricky Buchanan // Nov 19, 2007 at 5:32 am
I’m not affiliated with it in any way, but I find the blog http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/ to be extremely interesting reading about food science topics. They had a much more complete article recently about the complete lack of evidence of any “fat causes cancer” links. It’s been enlightening reading for me!
On another topic, there was an article here a while back about online “track your weight/eating/exercise” type of sites, are either of you familiar with the “Hacker’s Diet”? That has an online tracking version and it’s very different from anything else you’re likely to find, and the logic of it appeals to my geek brain :).
Also, I have lost 14kg (~28lbs) in the last year with a combination of the Hacker’s Diet and ideas from Brian Wansink’s book “Mindless Eating” and my own “take what is useful and leave the rest” spin on things. My BMI has gone from nearly 40 to about 35, so I still have a way to go but that’s a huge achievement for somebody who can’t exercise! Yay me!
Looking forward to more blogging here, especially after the new year. Best of luck to you both.
r
2 Lazy Man and Health // Nov 22, 2007 at 12:54 am
There’s a lot of evidence that caloric restriction can lead to increased longevity.
3 FinanceAndFat // Nov 22, 2007 at 7:00 am
My BMI is 33.5 right now and was 35.1 when I started my little weight loss project. It’s not a perfect measure, but a good baseline number none-the-less.
One of my biggest motivations for losing weight now is my long term health. I found that I would look at people in my family who smoked or drank (a lot) and think they were foolish for doing that to their bodies. Yeah, then I realized that I’m like 50 pounds overweight. I’m killing myself just as quickly! Time to stop being hypocritical and do something healthy.
Cheers
4 Pam // Nov 27, 2007 at 5:30 pm
While a few extra pounds may not be all that bad in the long run, even ten extra pounds can significantly increase blood pressure in those who are predisposed to hypertension. And so while I agree overall fitness is a better goal than just a target weight, those with high blood pressure would do better to lose all of their extra weight. easier said than done.
5 Sustainable Change » Geek Fitness // Dec 9, 2007 at 5:44 am
[…] one thing in common with all of these people is something J.D. touched on recently in his recent How Fat is Too Fat? post on his Get Fit Slowly blog: The actual weight isn’t that important to me — it’s the […]
6 Schizohedron // Dec 9, 2007 at 10:33 am
Another point to keep in mind is that overweight can damage knee and hip joints and the orthopedic health of the feet over time. This can affect quality of life in old age, just when other bodily systems are becoming less efficient, and add mobility problems to any other health problems you develop at that stage of your life. Hip and knee replacements seem to be on the rise, but how many are due to arthritis, and how many stem from premature joint degeneration from overweight and obesity? (I, an overweight man, get nervous whenever I feel a twinge in a knee.) This could argue for keeping healthful eating and exercise habits early, avoiding even these seemingly health-beneficial extra pounds as described in the study, and setting one’s self up for better quality of life as its twilight nears.
7 Amy // Dec 9, 2007 at 6:24 pm
This is not intended to sound discouraging, but it is important to remember that one study isn’t proof. There have been many studies about the dangerous effects of body fat, especially visceral fat which surrounds the organs. There have even been studies showing that a very low calorie intake leads to a longer life (to my knowledge these studies have been in rodents.) So, its all up in the air.
My advise (I’m not a doctor but I did major in exercise physiology and I work in public health, so take it for what its worth) is that when you think about your own health, you should think about your percent body fat (you can get a reasonably priced scale that can measure this) rather than BMI. BMI is a more useful measure for a group of people rather than for a single person because its not accurate if you have a large amount of muscle. For example, my dad, a very fit tri-athlete, is “obese” on the BMI scale. Of course, you should also pay attention to your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. When you are exercising, pay attention to your heart rate. You can approximate your max heart rate using the formula 220-(your age). To burn fat, you want to aim for 70% of your max. To burn carbs and work your heart harder, aim for 85% of your max. The faster your heart rate returns to normal after you stop exercising, the better off you are.
Best of luck and good for you for trying to make a positive change in your life. I look forward to reading this blog.
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