Research: Is it Safer Now to be Obese?

I think there is now a conflict as to what obesity is using the body mass index (BMI). In a recent study Danish researchers report that the risks associated with being obese have dropped drastically within the past 40 years.

According to their report people with a BMI of 27 are at the lowest risk of death from all causes. Interestingly, when you have a BMI of 27 you are considered "overweight" but this classification was adopted by the W.H.O long before the 1990s...

So what's going on?

"The startling finding stems from work led by Dr. Borge Nordestgaard, a clinical professor with the Institute of Clinical Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

The analysis stacked BMI data against all-cause death statistics among three groups of Danes: 14,000 enrolled in a heart study during the mid-1970s; 9,500 enrolled in the same study in the early 1990s; and more than 97,000 who were enrolled in a lifestyle study between 2003 and 2013.

Today's weight classifications peg normal weight as having a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9. Those with a BMI of between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight, while anyone with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. BMI is a measurement based on height and weight.

The result in the Danish analysis: In addition to obesity-related early death risk dropping to normal-weight levels, the team found that the BMI level linked to the lowest rate of all-cause early death had gone up by more than three units, rising from 23.7 in the 1970s to 27 in 2013."

It is quite obvious that people are bigger now than they were back in the 1970s and I don't think it would bea bad idea to come up with new definitions of "underweight", "normal", "overweight" and "obese".

However, some don't seem to agree with the theory of "things have changed" in relation to bigger people living longer. They attribute the longevity to improvements and advancements in medical science and technology.

According to Lona Sandon an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at UT Southwestern medical centre, Dallas:

"I do not believe it has necessarily become safer to have what is classified by U.S. National Institutes of Health as an overweight BMI," she said.
"A big difference between the decades is advances in drug treatment and other medical treatment that has helped people live longer, with or without overweight and obesity, and associated conditions," Sandon added.
But that does not mean being overweight has become healthier than in the past. It simply means that "doctors can just treat symptoms better," she cautioned.

Well what do you think?

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