By Andrea Pelin,
Project Weight Loss Editor in Chief
November 08, 2007The link between body weight and death causes has been strongly debated. However, being moderately overweight may actually lower the risk of death in certain circumstances, because the excess weight may provide nutritional reserves during illnesses, recovery periods, and major operations, according to a new study.
Obese people present a significant risk of death from cardiovascular diseases, as well as kidney disease and diabetes. By comparison, underweight people have a high risk of death from non-cancer and non cardiovascular diseases, according to researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maryland. In addition, researchers have noticed that overweight people have a smaller risk of death from non-cardiovascular diseases or non-cancer causes.
Specialists agree this is due to the fact that being overweight may be associated with improved prognosis for some diseases and better recovery from infections or medical procedures.
Researchers confirmed that obese and underweight people have higher death rates compared to normal-weight people. Some specialists, such as Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor at the University of California who was cited in the New York Times, consider that a body mass index (BMI) between twenty-five and thirty may be optimal. However, others believe that mortality rates shouldn`t be the only factor to consider when it comes to the healthiest body weight.
The study used national data from the past several years and showed that overweight people may have a lower death risk compared to people with a healthy weight.
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