Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.
Sometimes you just have to shake your head when you look at some of the headlines major newspapers spew out in their quest to gain readership. It all started with “Cause-Specific Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity“, a study that appeared on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The results of the study indicate that people classified as overweight (those with a BMI between 25 and 30) did not have any increased risk of dying from heart disease or cancer - on the contrary they actually have a lesser mortality than even normal-weight people to die from a host of other causes like pneumonia or infections. Only the truly obese (BMI above 30) were at serious risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney diseases and various cancers.
Many people believe that a little excess weight can help the body in times of disease, infection or sickness:
A little extra weight might provide “additional nutritional reserves†that could help people battle certain diseases, Katherine Flegal (from the CDC and the study’s lead-author) said. [MSNBC]
Of course, you already know there is another side to this story - the study could be misleading. For one thing cause might be misconstrued from effect:
For example, diabetes and heart disease often occur together and both often afflict overweight people. So when diabetes is listed as a cause of death, heart disease could have contributed. [MSNBC]
Another problem is that the study looks simply at mortality rates giving no consideration for quality of life. Infact a sister study in the very same issue of JAMA considers “The Changing Relationship of Obesity and Disability, 1988-2004” and it begins by saying that “The obese population may be living longer with better-controlled risk factors but paradoxically experiencing more disability.” A news article I have highlighted below (Obesity may hinder elders’ activities) considers various aspects of how being overweight and obese affects the elderly in their daily habits.
I completely agree with the notion there is absolutely no need to be paranoid about one’s weight to the extent that it leads to eating disorders and “super-model thin” dreams. In fact, it’s quite normal for the average person’s weight to fluctuate about 3-4 pounds in either direction depending on mood, appetite, seasons or festive (translation: gravy-rich food!) times. But the last thing we need is newspapers like the Daily Mail touting “Being overweight could be good for you” when that barely scrapes the tip of the iceberg.
A good rebuttal to the “overweight is good” camp is this from Reuters: “Being fat is still unhealthy, experts warn“:
“You should not take heart in the idea that if you are only overweight you are OK,” said Dr. Robert Kushner, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University who specializes in nutrition and diet. “Given time, there is a high likelihood you will be obese because people gain weight as they age in this country,” Kushner said in a telephone interview. [Reuters]
I would strongly urge you to read both sides of the issue so you get an understanding of what the study is really saying and why proclaiming something like “being overweight is ok” is not only irresponsible, it’s downright incorrect as well.
As always, there’s more where all this came from … here are the week’s top health and fitness stories:
- Researchers move closer to understanding obesity gene: Scientists have taken a big step in understanding how a gene linked to obesity works.
- Scale won’t budge? Time to tweak your habits: [...] when you step on that scale and the needle stays put, you wonder what the heck you’re doing wrong.
- Children found to get more diabetes, heart drugs: The number of U.S. girls taking diabetes drugs more than doubled between 2002 and 2005, almost certainly because of rising obesity
- Childhood obesity up in LA County: More children than ever are obese in Los Angeles County and the poorest kids are at the greatest risk, a new report said.
- Exercise Helps Repair Muscle Damage In Heart Failure Patients: Exercise increased the growth of new muscle cells and blood vessels in the weakened muscles of people with heart failure, according to two new studies.
- Obesity may hinder elders’ activities: Older obese people are more likely to have problems with routine physical activities as they age than their normal-weight peers, researchers said.
- Eat Fish, Get Smarter?: Eating at least 10 grams of fish per day may make for a sharper mind, new research shows.
- Strategies to curb your hunger while you lose: How can you be hungry, you wonder, when you ate a mere hour and a half ago?
- 5 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight: Still struggling to lose weight? Here are five mistakes that many people make  and advice to help you shed pounds.
- Emotional eaters regain weight: U.S. researchers find dieters who eat in response to emotional factors lose less weight over time and regain more weight.
- Sleep may cut childhood obesity: A good night’s sleep may reduce a child’s risk of becoming obese, according to a US study.
- Hold the Salt: A Growing Chorus: The average American consumes 3,353 milligrams of sodium every day — more than twice what the Institute of Medicine says is adequate for healthy people and 1,000 milligrams more than the recommended maximum.
- America’s Healthiest And Unhealthiest States: Has there ever been a better time to live in New England? [...] a new study says residents here are the healthiest people in America.
- Yoga can help heart failure patients: [Yoga] Exercise routine cuts signs of inflammation often linked with death
- Energy drinks can boost blood pressure, too: High blood pressure? Stay off the energy drinks
- Being fat is still unhealthy, experts warn: Being overweight may not kill you, but it could lead to obesity
- Being a little heavy may have some benefits: Being 25 pounds overweight doesn’t appear to raise your risk of dying from cancer or heart disease, says a new government study
- 50 ways to beat the reaper: Use these strategies now and add years of good living to your future
- No bones about it: Study firmly links obesity, cancer: One of the largest medical studies ever undertaken has confirmed what many public health officials already feared: Being overweight can give you cancer.
- High-fat diet disrupts body clock - study: Eating just a few meals loaded with fat could be enough to throw off the body’s internal clock, starting a vicious cycle that could lead to obesity and diabetes.
- High-Fat, High-Protein Atkins Diet Increase Risk Of Heart Disease: The high-fat, high-protein and low-carbohydrate Atkins diet of eggs, meat and cheese may put the followers at risk for heart disease in just one month, a new study suggests.
- Shopping centre keeps Santa fit: Santas at a Kent shopping centre have been ordered to slim down before greeting children in their grotto.
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Have a great weekend!
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