'Weight is healthy' study criticised

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20889381


A study which suggests being overweight can lead to a longer life has caused controversy among obesity experts.

One labelled the findings a "pile of rubbish" while another said it was a "horrific message" to put out.

The research, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggested the overweight were less likely to die prematurely than people with a "healthy" weight.

Being underweight or severely obese did cut life expectancy.

[bemildred]

1. The question is where to draw the line.

Obesity is not digital, you are more or less obese, or underweight, not merely one or the other. And the differences matter, and certainly some fat is a good thing.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. The whole weight/health thing is such a mess- fixation on numbers, not common sense.

Having put a lot of work into eating better/losing excess weight/getting healthier in the past two years, the whole "healthy BMI" thing showed me what a mess it is. I am 6 feet tall and large framed - according to "the charts", my weight should be 147-184. That is just plain silly - I may be able to sneak into the 180s and still look healthy, but with my frame if I go lower I will appear to be starving myself. (the Nintendo Wii berates me each time I step on it - at 196 lbs, "I am overweight&quot .

Having an anorexic daughter just drives home how sick our society is about weight and food and eating. I am sure many of us have noted such things before - the lobbying efforts of those who peddle unhealthy food, the images put forth by the entertainment industry - the constant bombardment of messages on both fringes of what is likely to be the most healthy for us.

No idea what the answer is....what a mess.

[auntAgonist]

3. amen !

[bemildred]

5. "Moderation in all things, excess in none."

Another example of false precision.