A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggested that overweight people live longer. It certainly got a lot of press. And that's too bad, because it appears both the media and the authors of the study have not figured out that correlation does not equal causation.
The Link Between Obesity and Life Expectancy
The lowest death rates were among women with a BMI of 22.0 to 23.4 and among men with a BMI of 23.5 to 24.9. Some researchers have determined that, in those who are extremely obese, life expectancy may be reduced by an estimated five to 20 years.
Obesity reduces life expectancy by an average of 3 to 10 years, depending on how severe it is.
So is it okay to be a little bit fat? The answer is probably yes: people with a BMI of 25 might view themselves as "a bit" fat, even though they are not overweight. But very high BMIs (and very low BMIs, below 18.5) are definitely unhealthy.
Obesity is generally defined as a BMI greater than 30; severe obesity greater than 35 and morbid or extreme obesity greater than 40. Research suggests that those with a BMI of 19 to 22 enjoy the greatest longevity.
When it comes to body shape and longevity, it's more helpful to compare apples and pears. That's the message of a study published in the journal PLOS ONE that found that pear-shaped people, who have comparatively thinner waists than people shaped like apples, tend to live longer.
Women who weighed less at age 20 and put on less weight as they aged were more likely to live longer than heavier women. Height played a major factor: the study found women who were taller than 5 feet 9 inches were 31% more likely to live into their 90s than women who were less than 5 feet 3 inches.
For all other measures of health (including general health, physical health, disability, and cancer) the health of the underweight class is significantly worse than that of the overweight.
A: The short answer is yes — it's possible for you to be both fit and overweight, even obese. What's really important to understand is what “fit” means and what “overweight” means relative to your health.
The fundamental cause of obesity and overweight is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Globally, there has been: an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat and sugars; and.
Individuals are usually considered morbidly obese if their weight is more than 80 to 100 pounds above their ideal body weight. A BMI above 40 indicates that a person is morbidly obese and therefore a candidate for bariatric surgery.
Class 3: BMI of 40 or higher. Class 3 obesity is sometimes categorized as “severe” obesity.
If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the underweight range. If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the Healthy Weight range. If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, it falls within the overweight range. If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obese range.
Even modest weight loss can mean big benefits. Even a modest weight loss of 5% to 10% of your total body weight is likely to produce health benefits, such as improvements in blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugars.
As you age, your muscle mass decreases and your fat mass increases. Fat is less metabolically active than muscle—you don't need as many calories to maintain fat as you do to maintain muscle. Hormonal changes can also lead to weight gain.
Focus on the bigger picture and praise yourself for the healthy choices you make, rather than the times you think you've "failed," Silverman says. Don't label any food as "bad" or "good." You'll only feel worse about yourself and your body if you eat something that isn't your definition of perfect, Goldman says.
Your activity level: Someone who is very inactive may have a BMI in the normal range and have lots of body fat, though they may not look out of shape. "They have very low levels of muscle and bone -- often elderly people, those in poor shape, sometimes those who are sick.
Indeed, among adults who met the National Institutes of Health criteria for being obese, only 15 percent realized they were obese, notes Kimberly P. Truesdale of the University of North Carolina.
In anorexia, death from organ failure or myocardial infarction is fairly common (up to 20 percent of cases end this way) and tends to happen when body weight has fallen to between 60 and 80 pounds (although it can occur at any time).
Being overweight or obese are both terms for having more body fat than what is considered healthy. These terms are used to identify people who are at risk for health problems from having too much body fat. However, the term "obese" generally means a much higher amount of body fat than "overweight."
At the end of the study, about 16 percent of the men and about 34 percent of the women survived to the age of 90. In fact, the authors found that women who were taller than 5 feet 9 inches were 31 percent more likely to reach 90, compared to those who were under 5 feet 3 inches.
About two-thirds will live past 80, and one-third past 90. Almost one in 10 girls born now will live past 100.
As it turned out, five specific lifestyle choices make a big difference in living to 90: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, good blood pressure control, regular exercise, and avoiding diabetes.