Doing The Math: What’s The Deal With Weight?
Posted by: Annika Harris
Filed in:
news
2:20PM, Wednesday June 24th 2009
Two recent studies, a Canadian one and a Japanese one, have found that slightly overweight people live longer than healthy weight folks. The two separate groups of researchers said they expected both underweight and obese people to have many more health concerns than healthy weight people, but they were surprised that a few extra pounds could protect people from an early death. However, the researchers warn against healthy weight people bulking up. “Our study only looked at mortality, not at quality of life, and there are many negative health consequences associated with obesity, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes,” said Kaplan, a professor of Community Health at Portland State University that participated in the Canadian study.
Now I’m really confused. Society says thin is in. Health professionals say to stay within an ideal body mass index. Researchers say a little cushion keeps death from pushing—but don’t do anything with these findings. So I’m going to weigh the positives and negatives of each weight category to see which one is really ideal.
- Being underweight…
...can increase the risk of infertility in women -3
...will allow the person to fit sample size clothing +1
...increases the likelihood of injury, fatigue, and sickness -2
...can bring societal acceptance +1
...can make the person irritable and inattentive -1
...can cause a preterm labor in pregnant women -3
...increases the likelihood of contracting pneumonia -2
Total = -9
- Being a healthy weight…
...can decrease your life expectancy -3
...increases physical activity +2
...decreases guilt for indulging in favorite foods +1
...provides enough energy +2
...can increase self-esteem +3
Total = +5
- Being slightly overweight…
...can increase life expectancy +2
...can lead to obesity -3
...slows down metabolism -2
Total = -3
- Being obese…
...increases likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary artery disease -3
...increases the likelihood of being shunned by society -1
...limits places to buy clothes -2
...makes physical activity, especially sex, awkward and difficult -2
...increases the potential to be embarrassed while traveling by plane -2
Total = -10
Well there you have it, according to my highly scientific evaluation, a healthy weight is the ideal, regardless of the two studies.
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happypants
wrote on June 24 2009 @ 02:37 pm: [report]
I call BS on your rating system. First of all, being obese does not make “physical activity, especially sex, awkward and difficult.” Have you ever been obese and had sex? Then who are you to judge if it’s awkward or not? Sex can be just as awkward with an extremely underweight person, as studies have suggested people in both weight classes have lower sex drives. However, there was a study that came out last fall that showed that overweight women had more sex than “normal”-weight women (http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/10/31/Overweight-women-have-more-sex/UPI-68841225431194/). Saying that sex with an obese person is awkward or difficult just perpetuates stereotypes.
Also, being slightly overweight can lead to obesity? Well, being a normal weight can lead to obesity, or to being underweight… it’s all in how events unfold. If you are 10-15 pounds overweight, you are just as likely to be motivated to lose that weight as you are to put more on.
Lastly, of course it’s better to be a healthy weight. That’s just common sense. Did you really need to write this whole thing to come to that conclusion?
aries3_04
wrote on June 24 2009 @ 02:57 pm: [report]
The funny thing about scientific research on health is that health information constantly changes and just because something is proven in a large study doesn’t mean it will apply to you individually. It tends to be a guideline, rather than a must. Work with a non-biased health care provider to estimate what is best for you. Research is so broadly-faced for an entire population, it’s more applicable to professionals in the field than it is for the average person.
DancerNinja
wrote on June 24 2009 @ 08:56 pm: [report]
I would like to see these epidemiological studies. Highly athletic people are going to have a BMI of “a few extra pounds” due to muscle mass. Those people are going to confound the mortality results.
It was said only a handful of years ago that calorie restriction can prolong a life, supposedly by slowing the metabolism and preventing overabundance of free radicals. A handful of years from now, what will they say?