A new CDC-released study by National Center for Health
Statistics’ Dr. Katherine Flegal and colleagues (here) confirms
results from her groundbreaking 2005 report (here): compared with
people of normal weight (BMI = 18.5 to less than 25), those who are overweight
(BMI greater than 25 but less than 30) have a lower mortality rate. Higher mortality rates are seen with obesity (BMI
greater than 30) and underweight (BMI under 18.5).
Applying weight-based mortality rates to the U.S. population,
Flegal estimated in 2005 that overweight resulted in 82,094 fewer deaths, and a
significant number of excess deaths were associated with obesity, a (n =
111,909) and underweight, (n = 33,746).
As I noted in this blog five years ago (here),
Flegal’s conclusions are consistent with those of many other scientific studies.
I have long had a professional interest in population research
on weight and health. In 2004, I published the first study to show that Swedish
men who quit smoking by switching to snus avoided the weight gain usually seen
with smoking cessation (abstract here). In 2015, my research group analyzed data from
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to demonstrate that changes
in population smoking do not contribute significantly to changes in population
overweight and obesity. (BMC Obesity article available here).
The impact of weight on life expectancy is clear: Those who
are underweight or severely obese are at risk of dying prematurely, while mere overweight
is associated with a lower mortality rate.
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