Once in a while there emerges health news that makes everyone scratch their heads. Here comes one of those moments…
If you are overweight – but only a little bit – congratulations, you are probably going to live the longest of any of us. That’s right, according to a new study people who were overweight, but not obese, were in prime position to outlive everyone else.
In the study, published in the journal Obesity, experts followed people 25 and older for 12 years. What they found was that people in the body mass index range of 25-29.9 were 17 percent less likely to die than those who were normal weight (a BMI of 18.5-24.9). Those who were underweight, a BMI less than 18.5, were 73 percent more likely to die than those who were normal weight.
We’re all aware of the massive problem of childhood obesity. However, kids aren’t quite aware of its magnitude, or at least how much they actually weigh.
In a study of mostly African American adolescents, nearly 40 percent were overweight or obese, and 27 percent of them underestimated their weight.
Of the 448 5th to 8th graders, more than 62 percent of the overweight boys and about 31 percent of the overweight girls listed their weight as normal or even underweight, reports Dr. Youfa Wang and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. That’s an interesting comparison. Since women are generally more conscious of their weight, it goes to show that girls aren’t as misguided about the number on the scale as their male counterparts.
It’s tough being a cop. It may get a little tougher if the state of Ohio has its way. There’s a state rule that allows the dismissal of police officers who “consistently exceed weight limits.” Alaska and Massachusetts also have weight rules for their police force.
Six Ohio troopers were removed from duty in 2003, including one who was 71 pounds overweight.
While no officers have been fired in recent years, at least 11 have received verbal or written reprimands this year for weighing too much. Reportedly, one trooper was 48 pounds over his allowable weight, while another was 40 pounds overweight. So, apparently the protest is working, or nobody wants to enforce the rules.
When we think of losing weight, it’s usually about immediate gratification. How I look now. How I feel now. But if you want real motivation to lose the excess weight, think about what it may be doing to your body in the long run.
A new study confirms what is a pretty logical assumption anyway. Obesity in early adulthood can lead to disabilities in your golden years. But the important thing to note is that, even if you lose weight, you may be at a higher risk of disability even if you lose weight. If you’re already overweight, don’t despair. You still stand to benefit from getting to a healthy weight. That’s because the longer you are overweight, the greater the risk of having mobility limitations later in life.
When we think of smokers, most non-smokers think about the elementary fact that they are at a serious risk of premature death. And often, people scoff at the behavior as being careless, which usually begins in the impressionable teenage years. But research now shows that it’s not any more dangerous (or frivolous) for young adults to smoke than it is to be overweight.
Dr. Martin Neovius of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and his colleagues stressed that since overweight and smoking are both associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, that if young adults fall in either category, they are at risk of an early death. Although the pathogenic mechanisms differ, he said, a synergistic effect of smoking and obesity may be possible.
The researchers found that obesity and being overweight in late adolescence increased mortality risk, regardless of whether or not they also smoked.
Researchers concluded that “overweight, obesity, and smoking among adolescents might be good targets for intensified public health initiatives.”
(via: MedPage Today)
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