Healthy overweight? Is Dicksein not harmful to your health?

Studies: Being overweight may not be as unhealthy as you think

Although several scientific studies have shown that overweight can cost many years of life, some studies have shown that being fat is less unhealthy than previously thought.

Being fat is unhealthy

Numerous scientific studies have shown that overweight and obesity are unhealthy. Who weighs too much, therefore, has a higher risk of secondary or concomitant diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis), lipid metabolism disorders, coronary heart disease such as heart attack to certain cancers. But according to recent studies, fat people do not generally have a worse health prognosis. Because according to American scientists, the Body Mass Index (BMI) says little about our health. And according to Swedish researchers, thicknesses are even living longer than lean today.

Overweight is considered a risk factor for many dangerous diseases. However, according to recent studies, fat are apparently not as unhealthy as expected. (Image: Alena Ozerova / fotolia.com)

Obese have a lower mortality rate than Lean

According to a Swedish study, overweight people today have a lower mortality rate than normal weight. According to study author Børge G. Nordestgaard of the Copenhagen University Hospital, the reason for this change is not clear.

For the study published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), data from more than 100,000 people in Denmark were evaluated.

These were examined in the years 1976 to 1978, 1991 to 1994 and from 2003 to 2013 on their mortality.

It showed that people in the 1970s with a BMI of 23.7 (which corresponds to a weight of 78 kilograms at a size of 1.83) lived the longest.

In the early 1990s, the optimal BMI was 24.6 - which equals five kilos more with the same height.

And in the range from 2003 to 2013, the optimal BMI even increased to 27, which corresponds to a body height of 1.83 a good 90 kilograms - that is twelve kilograms more than in the 1970s.

Rethink definition of overweight

In addition, the study revealed that obese people in the 1970s had a higher mortality rate than normal weight, but since the 2000s live just as long. According to the researchers must be redefined based on the findings, where obesity begins.

According to a report from the ScienceDaily website, Nordestgaard said, "If this finding is confirmed in other studies, it would suggest that WHO needs to revise its current definitions of obesity based on pre-1990s data . "

The scientist also pointed out that further investigation is needed to understand the reason for this change and its effects.

The researchers also wrote that the results should not be interpreted as meaning that people no longer pay attention to a healthy diet.

American and Canadian scientists came years ago to similar results as their Swedish counterparts.

At the time, they also reported in the Journal of the Medical American Association (JAMA) that overweight people live longer. However, the mortality risk for extreme obesity is increasing enormously.

BMI says little about the health

Currently, normal weight is determined using the Body Mass Index (BMI). From a BMI of 30, one speaks of obesity (obesity). That would be at a height of 1.70 meters 86.5 kilograms.

The BMI can be calculated by dividing the body weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters. At a BMI between 25 and 30, a person is considered overweight and over 30 as obese (obese).

However, a study conducted by scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA, found that BMI does not provide vital information about human health.

The researchers, who published their findings in the journal International Journal of Obesity, criticize many people for being unhealthy even though they only have a higher BMI.

The study showed that around 54 million Americans, who were considered unhealthy due to their weight, did not experience any disease symptoms.

According to the information, various values ​​such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels or cholesterol levels showed no abnormalities.

To testify, the researchers analyzed the data from around 40,000 Americans from the National Health Nutrition Examination Survey and estimated the outcome for the entire population.

Slim people with bad values

"Many people see obesity as a death sentence," said A. Janet Tomiyama, lead author of the study in a post on "EurekAlert!". "However, the data shows that there are millions of people who are overweight and obese, but in good health."

Almost half of the population, which is classified by the BMI as overweight, is healthy. Another healthy population is around 20 million people who are considered obese.

On the other hand, over 30 percent of people with "normal" BMI have poor levels of other health measurements, including blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

"There are healthy people who could be punished because of a faulty health measurement, while unhealthy people of normal weight are not recognized as such," Tomiyama criticized.

Co-author Jeffrey Hunger commented on the study results: "This should be the last nail in the coffin for BMI". (Ad)