3 ms·

The article seems to mix "thin" and "normal weight" all the time, being just poorly written. Including underweight people and normal people in the "thin" catego

The article seems to mix "thin" and "normal weight" all the time, being just poorly written. Including underweight people and normal people in the "thin" category is a major mistake. Also, this quote is troubling: "That people at higher weights are going to be OK." Not only NOTHING in the article supports that, almost every single piece or research shows the opposite: that in general, people at higher weights have much higher mortality rates. The article just shows that, when some chronic diseases are present, overweight people seem to fare better than non-overweight (which I take includes underweight people). Even if they fare better under certain very specific conditions, in general they fare quite worse. Source: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/ http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-th...

Asbostos 11y ago
It really glosses over this with only a brief mention that's immediately dismissed: "It’s true that these groups are slightly more likely to suffer from heart disease and some other life-threatening conditions in the first place. But many factors influence the likelihood of a person getting heart disease." many factors, especially obesity?
- Symmetry 11y ago
  From what I've read obesity does cause heart disease but a much stronger factor in the correlation is that lack of exercise causes both obesity and heart disease.
nkozyra 11y ago
Those higher mortality rates start above what qualifies as "mildly obese," though. Even discounting factors such as existing illness and smoking, people with higher weights (weights below the "obese" definition) in general have longer lives. Once you go beyond the "overweight" (or perhaps mildly obese, which has a negligible uptick in mortality) then the curve starts changing very rapidly. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-being-overweight-means-you-live-longer-the-way-scientists-twist-the-facts-10158229.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/... http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/02/being-overweight-is-linked-to-lower-risk-of-mortality/ http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/02/being-overweight-is-li...
- ucaetano 11y ago
  Sorry, but that's not what the results show: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21121834 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21121834 Body-mass index and mortality among 1.46 million white adults. With a BMI of 22.5 to 24.9 as the reference category, hazard ratios among women were 1.47 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.33 to 1.62) for a BMI of 15.0 to 18.4; 1.14 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.22) for a BMI of 18.5 to 19.9; 1.00 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.04) for a BMI of 20.0 to 22.4; 1.13 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.17) for a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9; 1.44 (95% CI, 1.38 to 1.50) for a BMI of 30.0 to 34.9; 1.88 (95% CI, 1.77 to 2.00) for a BMI of 35.0 to 39.9; and 2.51 (95% CI, 2.30 to 2.73) for a BMI of 40.0 to 49.9. In general, the hazard ratios for the men were similar. And the conclusion: In white adults, overweight and obesity (and possibly underweight) are associated with increased all-cause mortality. All-cause mortality is generally lowest with a BMI of 20.0 to 24.9.
  - nkozyra 11y ago
    This is going to shock you, but there are a great many studies on this, not all of which come to the same conclusion. From a meta-analysis: Relative to normal weight, both obesity (all grades) and grades 2 and 3 obesity were associated with significantly higher all-cause mortality. Grade 1 obesity overall was not associated with higher mortality, and overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality. The use of predefined standard BMI groupings can facilitate between-study comparisons. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23280227 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23280227
    - ucaetano 11y ago
      This is going to shock you, but I guess you didn't read the Harvard link addressing that specific study that I posted on my first post. But here it goes: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/ http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-th... Shocking, right?
      - nkozyra 11y ago
bad_user 11y ago
There are studies showing that people taking vitamin supplements are in better health condition than those that don't, even though it has also been shown that taking vitamin supplements doesn't beat placebo. So when looking at people taking vitamin supplements, the studies are biased simply because people taking vitamin supplements are the kind of people more inclined to care about their health in general. So one has to wonder, for studies making the claim that overweight people are more unhealthy, is it the actual weight and body fat? Or maybe it's something they eat more of, causing organs to malfunction? Or is it that such people tend to care less about their health than other people? I don't want to defend the claims in this article, as it's a pretty shallow one. But personally I take all nutritional advice with a grain of salt, including the one you've just made. This is because nutritional studies cannot be made double-blind, the study groups cannot be controlled and for any significant conclusion you'd have to do it for a large period of time and it's basically impossible to control the variables. For example, for us to really measure the effects of being overweight and be correct about it, we'd have to have at least 2 groups with people of similar weights on average. And then you'd have to fatten one group, while feeding the other group a normal calorie intake. But the catch is that you'd have to give them the exact same diet, just different quantities. And you'd have to monitor them all the time, because people tend to lie about their diet. And then you'd have to do this for at least 10 years to produce significant results. And even then you can't be sure about the cause - as maybe there was something in that diet that in larger quantities caused negative or positive health effects. And you can see how such a study would raise ethical questions - I mean you'd have to intentionally cause harm to people. That said, being overweight is not natural. Plus we know that being overweight is probably a sign for insulin resistance or a malfunctioning pancreas, or in other words type 2 diabetes. Many overweight people are on their way to type 2 diabetes. And that definitely can't be healthy. So I tend to agree that the article is bullshit. But on the other hand the current practice of reductionist science really needs to stop.

Asbostos 11y ago

It really glosses over this with only a brief mention that's immediately dismissed: "It’s true that these groups are slightly more likely to suffer from heart disease and some other life-threatening conditions in the first place. But many factors influence the likelihood of a person getting heart disease." many factors, especially obesity?

Symmetry 11y ago
From what I've read obesity does cause heart disease but a much stronger factor in the correlation is that lack of exercise causes both obesity and heart disease.

nkozyra 11y ago

Those higher mortality rates start above what qualifies as "mildly obese," though. Even discounting factors such as existing illness and smoking, people with higher weights (weights below the "obese" definition) in general have longer lives. Once you go beyond the "overweight" (or perhaps mildly obese, which has a negligible uptick in mortality) then the curve starts changing very rapidly. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/why-being-overweight-means-you-live-longer-the-way-scientists-twist-the-facts-10158229.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/... http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/02/being-overweight-is-linked-to-lower-risk-of-mortality/ http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/02/being-overweight-is-li...

ucaetano 11y ago
Sorry, but that's not what the results show: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21121834 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21121834 Body-mass index and mortality among 1.46 million white adults. With a BMI of 22.5 to 24.9 as the reference category, hazard ratios among women were 1.47 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.33 to 1.62) for a BMI of 15.0 to 18.4; 1.14 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.22) for a BMI of 18.5 to 19.9; 1.00 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.04) for a BMI of 20.0 to 22.4; 1.13 (95% CI, 1.09 to 1.17) for a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9; 1.44 (95% CI, 1.38 to 1.50) for a BMI of 30.0 to 34.9; 1.88 (95% CI, 1.77 to 2.00) for a BMI of 35.0 to 39.9; and 2.51 (95% CI, 2.30 to 2.73) for a BMI of 40.0 to 49.9. In general, the hazard ratios for the men were similar. And the conclusion: In white adults, overweight and obesity (and possibly underweight) are associated with increased all-cause mortality. All-cause mortality is generally lowest with a BMI of 20.0 to 24.9.
- nkozyra 11y ago
  This is going to shock you, but there are a great many studies on this, not all of which come to the same conclusion. From a meta-analysis: Relative to normal weight, both obesity (all grades) and grades 2 and 3 obesity were associated with significantly higher all-cause mortality. Grade 1 obesity overall was not associated with higher mortality, and overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality. The use of predefined standard BMI groupings can facilitate between-study comparisons. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23280227 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23280227
  - ucaetano 11y ago
    This is going to shock you, but I guess you didn't read the Harvard link addressing that specific study that I posted on my first post. But here it goes: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/ http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-th... Shocking, right?
    - nkozyra 11y ago

bad_user 11y ago

There are studies showing that people taking vitamin supplements are in better health condition than those that don't, even though it has also been shown that taking vitamin supplements doesn't beat placebo. So when looking at people taking vitamin supplements, the studies are biased simply because people taking vitamin supplements are the kind of people more inclined to care about their health in general. So one has to wonder, for studies making the claim that overweight people are more unhealthy, is it the actual weight and body fat? Or maybe it's something they eat more of, causing organs to malfunction? Or is it that such people tend to care less about their health than other people? I don't want to defend the claims in this article, as it's a pretty shallow one. But personally I take all nutritional advice with a grain of salt, including the one you've just made. This is because nutritional studies cannot be made double-blind, the study groups cannot be controlled and for any significant conclusion you'd have to do it for a large period of time and it's basically impossible to control the variables. For example, for us to really measure the effects of being overweight and be correct about it, we'd have to have at least 2 groups with people of similar weights on average. And then you'd have to fatten one group, while feeding the other group a normal calorie intake. But the catch is that you'd have to give them the exact same diet, just different quantities. And you'd have to monitor them all the time, because people tend to lie about their diet. And then you'd have to do this for at least 10 years to produce significant results. And even then you can't be sure about the cause - as maybe there was something in that diet that in larger quantities caused negative or positive health effects. And you can see how such a study would raise ethical questions - I mean you'd have to intentionally cause harm to people. That said, being overweight is not natural. Plus we know that being overweight is probably a sign for insulin resistance or a malfunctioning pancreas, or in other words type 2 diabetes. Many overweight people are on their way to type 2 diabetes. And that definitely can't be healthy. So I tend to agree that the article is bullshit. But on the other hand the current practice of reductionist science really needs to stop.