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November 7, 2007

Govt. study: Excess weight protects against death from many diseases (diabetes, cancer, kidney/heart disease not included)

Being Overweight Isn't All Bad, Study Says. The Washington Post reports on "a detailed analysis of decades of government data about more than 39,000 Americans" led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The most surprising finding was that being overweight but not obese was associated only with excess mortality from diabetes and kidney disease -- not from cancer or heart disease. Moreover, the researchers found an apparent protective effect against all other causes of death, such as tuberculosis, emphysema, pneumonia, Alzheimer's disease and injuries. An association between excess weight and nearly 16,000 deaths from diabetes and kidney disease was overshadowed by a reduction of as many as 133,000 deaths from all other deaths unrelated to cancer or heart disease. Even moderately obese people appeared less likely to die of those causes.
Although the study did not examine why being overweight might guard against dying from some diseases, Flegal said other research has suggested that extra heft might supply the body with vital reserves to draw upon to fight illness and aid recovery.

"You may not just have more fat. You may also have more lean mass -- more bone and muscle," Flegal said. "If you are in an adverse situation, that could be good for you."

Folk wisdom has always held that some extra weight can get a body through an illness better than nothing to spare.

Of course, the language is all skewed, since there is no "protection" against death for anyone.

Related: What we learn from the dying: A doctor shares what his patients’ last moments have taught him is a wonderful read at MSNBC.

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 10:35 AM | Permalink