Too Rich, Too thin

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

 

HSI e-Alert - Too Rich, Too thin

Mon, 02 May 2005 06:59:00 -0400

HSI e-Alert - Too Rich, Too thin

 

 

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

****************************************************

May 02, 2005

Dear Reader,

 

I wonder how many weight-loss diets went straight out the window when

the media pounced on the recent study titled " Excess Deaths Associated

With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity. "

 

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),

this study delivered three surprising conclusions: 1) If you carry a

little extra weight, you won't be increasing your mortality risk. 2)

Even more surprising (to some) was the conclusion that you may

increase your mortality risk if you're underweight. 3) And the kicker:

Risk of mortality associated with obesity is lower than previous

studies estimated.

 

Many reporters couldn't get over the apparent irony that a little

extra weight won't kill you, while being underweight just might. So

once again, it's time to do what reporters rarely seem to do anymore:

actually read the study and ask some obvious questions.

 

-----------

Deflating generalizations

-----------

 

Let's take the conclusions in order.

 

Are you a little overweight? No problem - at least in terms of it

threatening your life. Being a little overweight probably won't kill

you, according to this study. The most serious problem that most of us

might have with carrying a few extra pounds is if we're just passing

through the country of overweight, on our way to the destination of

obesity.

 

But can being underweight actually kill you? If you're a few pounds

under your ideal weight, don't panic. There's a lot more to simply

being underweight than meets the eye; primarily the age factor. In the

JAMA study, the majority of excess deaths associated with being

underweight occurred in people who were over the age of 70.

 

So, for instance, let's say you're 75, weigh 100 pounds, and stand

five feet five inches tall: Your body mass index (BMI) would classify

you as underweight. But that doesn't mean you're at death's door. If

you meet the above criteria and you're also involved in daily physical

activities and have no chronic health problems, then being underweight

is far less of a health threat than if you meet the above criteria but

you're also physically inactive, in which case infirmities and disease

can more easily take their toll.

 

In short: it's all relative. So when reporters tell you that being

underweight is more dangerous than being slightly overweight, they're

simplifying the study results to the point of distortion.

 

-----------

Life, or something like it

-----------

 

The conclusion of this study that's received the most attention is the

finding that mortality due to obesity is lower than previous studies

indicated.

 

For some, the big deal here is that the research team (consisting of

epidemiologists and statisticians with the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute) found that the

number of excess deaths due to obesity were considerably less than

previous CDC estimates. This has touched off a controversy about

previous CDC research methods and has even raised questions about the

possible motives of CDC officials. Were they really trying to scare

everyone into losing weight?

 

I'm not going to take up that particular controversy because the focus

on obesity-related mortality is mostly academic. Can obesity kill?

Absolutely. Those who experience obesity on a day-to-day basis are

living in denial if they find any comfort in the new JAMA study with

the lowered mortality risk. After all, how many elderly people do you

know who qualify as obese? It's a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless:

Obesity and longevity do not go hand in hand.

 

So what's the exact risk of mortality if you're obese? We'll let the

statisticians haggle over that one while we focus instead on life.

 

In a nutshell: Obesity seriously compromises health and the quality of

life. Type 2 diabetes, some cancers, high blood pressure and heart

disease are just a few of the health risks that chronically obese

people live uneasily with.

 

For every one of us the risk of dying is 100 percent. Living well -

with proper body weight and the resulting good health - is the best

revenge.

 

****************************************************

 

 

....and another thing

 

Vitamin E may be a cigarette smoker's ace in the hole.

 

In a study from the National Cancer Institute, NCI researchers drew on

data collected from a Finnish smoker's study, which included more than

29,000 male subjects. The original data included blood sample analysis

and information about specific vitamin supplements given to subjects

as part of the trial.

 

For their study, the NCI team focused on vitamin E in two phases. In

the first phase, data from blood samples (taken before supplementation

began) was examined for 300 subjects; 200 were cancer free and 100 had

prostate cancer. Analysis revealed a clear link between elevated

vitamin E levels and a reduced risk of prostate cancer.

 

In the second phase, intake of two specific forms of vitamin E were

assessed: alpha tocopherol and gamma tocopherol from dietary sources

(such as almonds and spinach). Both forms were linked with a reduced

risk of prostate cancer, and risk was lowered even further when

vitamin E supplements were added.

 

Of course, quitting smoking is still better for your health than

supplementing your tobacco with vitamin E...in case you were wondering.

 

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

****************************************************

 

 

Sources:

 

" Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity "

Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 293, No. 15,

4/20/05, jama.ama-assn.org

" Obesity Not as Life-Threatening as Thought " Serena Gordon, HealthDay

News, 4/19/05, forbes.com

" Some Extra Heft May Be Helpful, New Study Says " Gina Kolata, The New

York Times, 4/20/05, nytimes.com

" New Evidence Found of How Vitamins Prevent Cancer " Reuters Health,

3/29/04, healthnewsexpress.com

 

************