America is fat, but it may also be healthy. A recent study on over weight individuals has sparked a lot of criticism. Katherine Flegal, a senior research scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says:
We published an article in 2005 that showed, among other things, that (being) overweight was associated with lower mortality.
Since then, Flegal and her associates have been working on a study that involves reviews of over 100 previous studies linking weight and mortality. The study claims that those who are overweight but not obese might be able to live through medical crisis’ better than those who are thin. The idea is that you lose weight when you are facing something serious, be it stress or a medical problem, and that those with more fat on them can shed 20lbs without much impact on their body. However, if you are thin and you lose 20lbs you end up straining your body and energy which can worsen your health, ultimately causing a pre-mature death.
It might also have to do with the mentality of individuals. A healthy thin individual may not be as inclined to see the doctor as often as an overweight individual might. Let us say for instance that both a thin and an overweight individual has a dormant tumor. The overweight individual may detect it sooner due to more frequent checkups than the thin individual simply because of the “I’m healthy I don’t need to get a checkup” mentality. Not to mention the stubbornness of not seeing a doctor for routine checkups because it costs too much. I think it all boils down to living healthier lives and paying attention to your body! Experts say that ultimately it comes down to how you feel, if you are overweight but fit and you feel good then you are healthy!
The obese make us fat Americans average, does that mean that the average sized people will live longer lives? What do you think? Maybe its time to stop hitting the gym and time to start eating more pies! Chocolate pies, raspberry pies, banana cream pies, mint pies, key lime pies….. mmmmm so many PIES!
Sources:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/02/health/overweight-mortality/index.html
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