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3 Reasons Why Being Overweight May Be Good For You

By Deborah Mitchell Jan 2 2013 - 11:03am
3 reasons why being overweight may be good
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A new report in JAMA claims that being overweight may be good for you, and the study has many health experts up in arms. This is not the first time such a statement has been made, and so it seems to be a good time to review the idea that being overweight may be beneficial. However, don’t cancel your gym membership or load up on ice cream just yet.

One reason why being overweight may be good

According to the authors of the new study, which was conducted by researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics, people who are overweight (but not obese) are much less likely to die prematurely from any cause than individuals who are of normal weight. To arrive at this conclusion, they reviewed data from 97 studies, which involved more than 2.88 million people from around the globe and more than 270,000 deaths.

The researchers also established weight categories based on body mass index (BMI): normal weight, 18.5 to 24.99 BMI; overweight, 25 to 29.99 BMI, general obesity, 30+ BMI; grade 1 obesity, 30 to 34.99 BMI, and grades 2 and 3 obesity, 35 BMI and greater. They then compared the chances of dying of any cause between people of normal weight and the other categories. This is what they found:

  • 6% less risk of dying if you are overweight
  • 18% higher risk if you are obese (any category)
  • 1-5% higher risk of dying if you are grade 1 obese
  • 29% higher risk of dying if you are grade 2 or 3 obese

The backlash to these findings has come from experts around the world. Professor John Wass, vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians in the UK noted in a BBC News article that “Huge pieces of evidence go against this, countless other studies point in the other direction,” while renowned nutrition expert Dr. Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health called it “an even greater pile of rubbish” than an earlier study conducted by the same team.

That team, headed by Katherine M. Flegal, PhD, explained that possible reasons for their findings may be “earlier presentation of heavier patients, greater likelihood of receiving optimal medical treatment, cardioprotective metabolic effects of increased body fat, and benefits of higher metabolic reserves.” These factors, as well as individual discrepancies noted in some of the studies used in this meta-analysis, seem to be good reasons to reconsider the findings of this study.

Reason Two: Another study published in August 2012 in JAMA reported that normal weight adults who have type 2 diabetes have a greater chance of dying than do individuals with the disease who are overweight or obese. This finding also seems to fly in the face of what is known about the health risks of being overweight, and especially since excess weight is a risk factor for diabetes.

However, Mercedes R. Carnethon, associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and her team made an interesting discovery. That discovery came when they evaluated data from five studies that involved more than 2,600 adults older than 40 who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or who were diagnosed during one of the studies. The range of follow-up in the studies was 9 to 28 years.

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They found that the rates of deaths from all causes, cardiovascular, and non-cardiovascular causes were higher among people of normal weight than among those who were overweight or obese. This finding held true even after they adjusted for smoking, blood pressure, waist circumference, and cholesterol levels. Why?

Carnethon explained that people of normal weight are often overlooked by doctors when it comes to diabetes screening and so those who have the disease are missed even though they could be at high risk of dying from diabetes-related causes, such as cardiovascular disease. Genetic also could have a role in normal weight people who develop type 2 diabetes.

Reason Three. Despite attempts to find a third possible reason why being overweight could be beneficial, I could not find one. However, there are countless numbers of studies demonstrating the physical and emotional hazards of being overweight or obese, regardless of a person’s age or gender.

The health dangers of overweight and obesity begin in childhood and continue on through adolescence, pregnancy (with health hazards for both the mother and the child), middle age, and the senior years. Aside from the increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke, gallstones, diabetes, certain cancers, and a number of other serious health problems, excess weight can reduce quality of life.

Children and adults can be the focus of bullying and discrimination and experience depression and loss of self-esteem. Mobility can be limited, and being overweight or obese can make having other conditions, such as respiratory disease, gastrointestinal disorders, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or recovery from surgery more difficult.

Is it healthy to be overweight or obese? The findings of the new study need to be examined carefully and weighed against other evidence to the contrary, and it’s likely the scales will be in favor of maintaining a healthy weight.

SOURCES:
BBC News January 2, 2013
Carnethon MR et al. Association of weight status with mortality in adults with incident diabetes. JAMA 2012 Aug; 308(6): 581-90
Flegal KM et al. Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2013: 309(1): 71-82

Image: Morguefile

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Comments

Kathleen Blanchard wrote on January 2, 2013 - 4:56pm
There is a number 3 reason for older adults :) I found it!!! - . They live longer maybe. The authors didn't suggest older overweight adults try to lose weight and they encourage exercise, of course. The authors suggest sedentary lifestyles are most dangerous. The study was published 2010 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02677.x/abstract
Deborah Mitchell wrote on January 2, 2013 - 5:10pm
Yes, I saw that study, but since the latest study suggests that people who are overweight or "slightly" obese live longer (and that still a 'maybe' as well), I felt the findings were too similar. But thank you for sharing the information.
Hans de Rycke, ... wrote on January 4, 2013 - 11:57pm
Wait a few weeks and we'll have another triple placebo 5 times blind tested study to show the opposite to be true!
Thomas Samaras wrote on March 11, 2013 - 9:27pm
Another possible reason for heavier people living longer may be that they eat more and get more vitamins and minerals compared to light eaters. This could be an advantage if modern food loses nutrients due to storage and processing. However, the World Health Organization, World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute of Cancer Research, and many researchers have recommended being near the lower limit of the normal range of the body mass index (BMI) (normal BMI = 18.5-29.9). I have researched longevity for about 37 years and centenarians tend to be short and light (exceptions exist of course). However, many of these 100 year olds have low-calorie diets and generally follow plant-based diets. Professor Campbell has studied nutrition and health extensively and concludes that a plant-based diet is best. People who follow a plant-based or vegan diet tend to be leaner than most people although vegetarians may be overweight due to eating high calorie foods, such as cheese, sweets, and milk. Chan, Suzuki and Yamamoto attributed the longevity of centenarians to their smaller body size and lower intakes of fat and protein. A thermodynamic study by Silva and Annamalai found that an 18% lower caloric intake would increase our longevity by over 20 years. They also found a 10% protein diet would add about 3 years compared to an 18% protein diet. From a biological viewpoint, adding weight makes no scientific sense because as the BMI increases from minimum value, a host of undesirable biochemical and physiological changes occur. These factors increase in a roughly linear fashion. For example, blood pressure increases along with the left ventricular mass. Other factors include increased cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, glucose levels, Apo B, insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1. Increases in these factors have been found harmful to future health. In addition, HDL, adiponectin, sex hormone binding globulin, APO A and IGF binding protein 1 decrease. All of these factors are related to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes and all of these diseases rise with BMI in a roughly linear pattern. Van Heemst and other scientists have also attributed reduced longevity to higher levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1. Consider the experience of Cubans during the Cuban economic crisis between 1990 and 2000. Food supplies became scarce and caloric intake went down sharply. The Cubans lost weight and all-cause mortality, diabetes and heart disease declined. A similar pattern was found in Europe during WWII when food supplies became scarce. They lost weight and heart disease dropped sharply until after the war when food became more abundant and weight increased. Another example comes from the Great Depression. In the U.S. food became more difficult to afford and many people had to wait on food lines to eat. However, mortality dropped for most age groups, including infants. Possible problems with the study showing a moderately higher BMI promotes longevity were describe in the article above. In addition, people with undiagnosed diseases may be thin do to the disease. Another factor is socioeconomic factors. We know higher income people have a lower death rate than poor people. In addition, higher income people tend to be taller. Many taller higher income people may have higher BMIs due to there greater height because the BMI tends to rise with increasing height; for example, if short and tall people of the same body proportions are compared, the BMIs of tall people will be a few points higher. (See Samaras: Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling, Chapter 2.) Unfortunately, human studies are affected by a variety of factors: genes, diet, lifestyle, smoking, alcohol intake, exercise, income, medical care, childhood living conditions, environment and stress management. That's why they often contradict each other. One needs to look at a variety of studies and use common sense in evaluating the results and their application to one's personal habits. Based on my research, a lower BMI with a plant-based diet is best (many studies support the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet).