Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 11/28/2025 6:07:53 AM PST by daniel1212
Excess weight or obesity boosts risk of death by anywhere from 22% to 91%—significantly more than previously believed—while the mortality risk of being slightly underweight has likely been overestimated, according to new CU Boulder research.
The findings, published Feb. 9 in the journal Population Studies, counter prevailing wisdom that excess weight boosts mortality risk only in extreme cases.
The statistical analysis of nearly 18,000 people also shines a light on the pitfalls of using body mass index (BMI) to study health outcomes, providing evidence that the go-to metric can potentially bias findings. After accounting for those biases, it estimates that about 1 in 6 U.S. deaths are related to excess weight or obesity.
“Existing studies have likely underestimated the mortality consequences of living in a country where cheap, unhealthy food has grown increasingly accessible, and sedentary lifestyles have become the norm,” said author Ryan Masters, associate professor of sociology at CU Boulder....
He noted that BMI, which doctors and scientists often use as a health measure, is based on weight and height only and doesn’t account for differences in body composition or how long a person has been overweight.
noting that Tom Cruise (at 5 feet 7 inches and an extremely muscular 201 pounds at one point), had a BMI of 31.5, famously putting him in the category of “obese.” “It isn’t fully capturing all of the nuances and different sizes and shapes the body comes in.”
To see what happened when those nuances were considered, Masters ... discovered that a full 20% of the sample characterized as “healthy” weight had been in the overweight or obese category in the decade prior. When set apart, this group had a substantially worse health profile than those in the category whose weight had been stable...
“The health and mortality consequences of high BMI are not like a light switch,” said Masters. “There’s an expanding body of work suggesting that the consequences are duration-dependent...
Contrary to previous research, the study found no significant mortality risk increases for the “underweight” category. While previous research estimated 2 to 3% of U.S. adult deaths were due to high BMI, his study pegs the toll at eight times that.
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
“at 5 feet 7 inches and an extremely muscular 201 pounds at one point”
Tom Cruise has never been “an extremely muscular 201 pounds”.
Note to author: If you want people to take you seriously, drop the BS.
“ While previous research estimated 2 to 3% of U.S. adult deaths were due to high BMI, his study pegs the toll at eight times that.”
Grok told me recently that SNAP welfare cases are 40% obese compared to 30% for the self sufficient.
So if 2% x “eight times” = 16% of deaths are “due to high BMI”, that means about half of obese people (16% / 30%) die of being fat!
“A day late I suppose”
As a kid back in the 50’s we knew then that being fat was unhealthy.
well if he is 5’7” and has a six pack, he MUST be nearly entirely muscle and nearly no fat if he is 201.
One day is not going to be a problem.
It’s what you do most of the time that matters, not what you do on occasion.
Being a little above average in weight gives you a little safety net should you end up in an acute situation where you can’t eat much for a few days.
I worked with a 500+ pound man in the 2000s. He died in his early 40s.
Me! Me! Listen to me! I need a grant!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.