How important is it to lose weight and avoid obesity?
In wandering the web I came across the results of a study to determine the risk of death associated with being underweight or overweight as measured by body mass index (BMI). The authors used the following measures: underweight (body mass index [BMI] <18.5), overweight (BMI 25 to <30), and obesity (BMI >30).
They looked at deaths in the United States in 2000 and found 111,606 excess deaths from obesity and 33,746 associated with being underweight. They found being overweight (BMI 25 to <30) did not contribute to excess deaths compared with those of normal weight.
reference: K. M. Flegal, B. I. Graubard, D. F. Williamson & M. H. Gail, The Journal of the American Medical Association, April, 2005;293, No 15
The increased risk to health as people reach increasing levels of obesity is widely promoted. The need to lose weight and avoid obesity is supported by this study. Interesting that being over weight without being obese did not lead to increased risk of death. It is also interesting that being underweight increases the risk of death.
Food for thought! Keith
