I love when I find an article which speaks to my heart about food and weight, and these days many do as they debunk the myths about overweight and health. Think extra pounds puts you at risk for disease and early death? Think again and read on.
An article by Harriet Brown, In ?obesity paradox,? thinner may mean sicker (NY TIMES, 9/17/13) is a real eye-opener and not the first of its kind I?ve read recently providing a new paradigm for thinking about weight and health. ?In study after study,? says Brown, ?overweight and moderately obese patients with certain chronic diseases often live longer and fare better than normal-weight patients with the same ailments. The accumulation of evidence is inspiring some experts to re-examine long-held assumptions about the association between body fat and disease.? She cites a 2007 ?study of 11,000 Canadians over more than a decade? which ?found that those who were overweight had the lowest chance of dying from any cause.?Brown cites several reasons for this seeming paradox. 1) The body may need more calories and energy reserve during chronic disease, putting fat people at an advantage. 2) Perhaps thinner people have gene variants making them more susceptible to certain illnesses, which puts them at greater risk when they become ill. 3) Maybe doctors treat heavy people more aggressively than thinner people based on the mistaken belief that overweight causes disease. 4) There might be only correlations between weight and disease, not a cause-and-effect relationship. ?A series of studies by Steven Blair at the Cooper Institute in Dallas shows that being fat and fit is better, healthwise, than being thin and unfit.?? Says Glenn Gaesser, author of BIG FAT LIES, ?Cardiovascular fitness is a far more important predictor of mortality risk than just knowing what you weigh.?
What does this information mean to you? First, science knows more about weight now than it did in the past and it pays to be well informed. Second, you can bring along a copy of this article (from the web) and others like it to your health care providers to enlighten them to back off on harping on your weight. Third, you can stop living in fear that you?re going to die before your skinny colleague/spouse/friend/neighbor/relative.
It?s time to get off the weight-loss bandwagon and focus on ?normal? eating, fitness, and developing effective living skills all of which will help you enjoy life and actually be healthier. The more you know the truth about weight and health, the more you?ll feel empowered to take excellent care of your body.
Best,
Karen
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http://www.eatingnormal.com/
http://www.nicegirlsfinishfat.com/
PLEASE NOTE: ?Please post your comments and suggestions for future blogs at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/foodandfeelings.
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Source: http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/healthy/2012/10/myths-of-overweight-and-health.html
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