Gain weight, live longer??

[edmcel]

Chubby people live longest: Japan study

Fri Jun 19, 6:14 AM

TOKYO (AFP) - Health experts have long warned of the risk of obesity, but a new Japanese study warns that being very skinny is even more dangerous, and that slightly chubby people live longer.

People who are a little overweight at age 40 live six to seven years longer than very thin people, whose average life expectancy was shorter by some five years than that of obese people, the study found.

"We found skinny people run the highest risk," said Shinichi Kuriyama, an associate professor at Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine who worked on the long-term study of middle-aged and elderly people.

"We had expected thin people would show the shortest life expectancy but didn't expect the difference to be this large," he told AFP by telephone.

The study was conducted by a health ministry team led by Tohoku University professor Ichiro Tsuji and covered 50,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 over 12 years in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi.

"There had been an argument that thin people's lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors," Kuriyama said.

Main reasons for the shorter lifespans of skinny people were believed to include their heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels, he said.

But Kuriyama warned he was not recommending people eat as much as they want.

"It's better that thin people try to gain normal weight, but we doubt it's good for people of normal physique to put on more fat," he said.

The study divided people into four weight classes at age 40 according to their body mass index, or BMI, calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by their squared height in metres.

The normal range is 18.5 to 25, with thinness defined as under 18.5. A BMI of 25 to 30 was classed as slightly overweight and an index above 30 as obese.


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This new study is confusing, since most doctors will recommend losing some weight in order to reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, I think that many Japanese girls are very weight conscious to the point that they are anorexic or near anorexic, which may be the target population of this study.

[Kristi_de]

I think it doesn't depend on the weight of person. but really depends on the lifestyle and the quality of food.

[PeRFeCK]

Interesting topic, I would have never thought...

Of course being ridiculously skinny is a health risk, but so is being obese. I agree with Kristi_de, it probably has more to do with healthy food, not just weight.

[natcaasi]

Let me put forward a scenario...
Suppose an overweight and slim person were crossing the road at the same time and both see a car coming their way ... Now assume that this car is just 15 or 10 metres away ... Who do you think will be able to dodge it?
And as expected the one who cannot do so dies ...

In anycase i believe if one were to eat right, he or she will be slim unless he or she has a genetic predisposition to being overweight...

[chiongster]

hmm slightly obese. Agree with most forumer as eat healthy and live long than skinny and malnutrition.

[wrobic1]

i love how they only talked about the skinny people who smoke or are sick

what about those who are healthy and really skinny? some people cant help it if theyre genetically predispositioned to stay slim, e.g. high metabolism

[Shurakai]

"There had been an argument that thin people's lives are short because many of them are sick or smoke. But the difference was almost unchanged even when we eliminated these factors," Kuriyama said.

Main reasons for the shorter lifespans of skinny people were believed to include their heightened vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels, he said.

Well you see they didn't only mention the sick or the smokers =] this survey covered 50,000 people between the ages of 40 and 79 over 12 years in the northern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi.

[wrobic1]

Ah I somehow missed that x_x

But I bet they didnt take in the fact that those who are under-eaters arent gonna necessarily be sick, they just might be dieting too hard and that will mess up your health decently. I just seriously doubt that naturally being skinny but staying healthy with a good diet and exercise is actually a detriment to your lifespan.

[Martian07]

Of course being too skinny isn't good for you
But being obese is also nt good
Its best just to eat right and exercise, this way you stay healthier

[mackey]

That's kind of like the "research" some British scientists did who said people who had bigger thighs live longer than skinny model people. Mind you, that's not a really good comparison, since models hardly eat. There are naturally skinny/slim people out there who lead good lifestyles (diet, exercise, etc.). Does that mean that they'll have a shorter life because their thigh circumference is smaller? I mean honestly, this is what they spend their research money on?

[yelanyuqin]

I think it doesn't depend on the weight of person. but really depends on the lifestyle and the quality of food.

+1，gain weight can't make the japanese become the most longevity nation。

[dei]

That's kind of like the "research" some British scientists did who said people who had bigger thighs live longer than skinny model people

Well, British scientists probably doesn't do any if such "researches", it;s just a massmedia trope. But that article indeed, remind me about such "research" work.

[Atrocious]

Well, Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world and there are probably 100 year old+ geezers over there that are both fat/skinny so the study isn't really that reliable.

[Flux_]

its more dengerous be fat because your can have a hearth attack, diabetes and cancer.

[ArtTheOracle]

I think it depends on livestyle and food

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fatter have more risker from affliction