Being 'fat' may not be a health risk

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http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=2291102005

Spiritually_Speaking

Being 'fat' may not be a health risk

IAN JOHNSTON

 

PEOPLE who are officially classed as overweight are not necessarily putting

their health at risk and going on a diet could be dangerous, according to new

research.

 

A row has been raging after a controversial US study earlier this year found

that those deemed to be overweight - because of their high weight to height

ratio - actually had a lower chance of dying prematurely than people whose

weight was " normal " .

 

Now scientists are increasingly supporting the findings and casting doubt on the

value of the body mass index (BMI) system of measuring whether someone is too

heavy, according to New Scientist magazine.

 

This is because it does not take fat levels into account. The BMI method would

suggest actor Brad Pitt and George Bush, the US president, are overweight,

mostly because they exercise regularly and have built up the amount of lean

tissue in their bodies. And experts warned that anyone deciding to lose weight

after being told they were too heavy because of their BMI could actually damage

their health.

 

Reducing the amount of food consumed lowers weight, but also lowers the amount

of lean tissue, which has been linked to an increased chance of premature death.

 

Katherine Flegal, an epidemiologist from the US Centres for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) who led the team behind the controversial study, said:

" Although people think there's all this evidence out there showing a high

mortality risk associated with being overweight, in fact the literature doesn't

show it. "

 

A previous CDC study said overweight and obesity caused 325,000 premature deaths

a year in the US, but Ms Flegal's study found that while obesity was the cause

of 112,000 early deaths, there were 86,000 fewer deaths a year among those who

were overweight compared with those who were " normal " weight.

 

In Britain, nearly two-thirds of the population are considered to be overweight

and about a quarter are obese The NHS Direct website includes a page where

people can enter their height and weight and then be given a BMI rating and told

whether they are overweight or obese.

 

But Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine at California University whose BMI

makes him nearly obese, said: " If correct, all these worries about a huge

fraction of the population being overweight just go out the window. It's not a

trivial problem, but the focus should now be on the severely overweight. The

current definition of overweight is not like the speed of light or pi. What was

considered as the normal, desirable weight is too low.

 

" I just got back from a 350-mile bike trip all over the south-west of the US. I

lost no weight whatsoever. I was eating like a pig I was so hungry all the

time. "

 

Researchers in Denmark and Finland found people who lose weight by eating less

food were more likely to die early.

 

The theory is that dieting results in a decrease in the amount of lean body

tissue as well as fat and that this is damaging to health, although the reasons

why this appears to happen remains unclear. Losing weight through exercise

avoids this problem as it preserves or increases the amount of lean mass.

 

Dr David Haslam, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum, told The Scotsman

that while BMI was useful for population studies, it was " flawed to say the

least " when assessing individuals.

 

" The best way is to get a tape measure and measure your waist halfway between

the crest of the hip and the lower rib at the side, " he said.

 

Men with waists of more than 112cm or 40 inches and women with waists of 88cm or

35 inches are considered to be too fat for their health. These figures can be

lower for some ethnic minorities, particularly people from south-east Asia.

 

Dr Haslam said: " If you've got a low waist size but a high BMI you're probably

not at increased risk, so it would be foolish to diet. But there are many

confounding factors. What people should not take from this is that having extra

fat on the abdomen is a good thing. It's not. "

 

How to work it out

 

TO FIND out your BMI, multiply your height in metres by itself and then divide

your weight in kilograms by the resulting figure.

 

According to the NHS 24/NHS Direct website, if you have a BMI of less than 18.4

you are underweight and between 18.5 and 24.9 you are an ideal weight.

 

Between 25 and 29.9 you are overweight, between 30 and 39.9 you are obese and

over 40 you are very obese.