Doctors Say Fat People Can Live As Long As Thin Ones

[TromboneAl]

In addition to longevity, there's a quality of life and a vanity issue here as well. If you are 20 pounds overweight, you are carrying two bowling balls with you wherever you go. That doesn't sound fun to me.

People who are 100 pounds overweight are carrying 10 bowling balls -- I'm tired at the end of the day -- how do they feel?

I guess the vanity issue isn't important to most, because they've gotten used to the new normal. I assume this is true when I see overweight women wearing tight, clinging outfits that allow their muffin tops to escape.

Personally, I don't care about living longer, but I want to feel good (and look OK) while I'm still alive.

 

[Alan]

Personally, I don't care about living longer, but I want to feel good (and look OK) while I'm still alive.

+1

What I like about the younger next year book is that the authors are not recommending weight loss, diets or that their exercise regimes will mean living longer. The book is all about quality of life in the last decade or so before we pop our clogs.

 

[Midpack]

Personally, I don't care about living longer, but I want to feel good (and look OK) while I'm still alive.

+2.

 

[haha]

In addition to longevity, there's a quality of life and a vanity issue here as well. If you are 20 pounds overweight, you are carrying two bowling balls with you wherever you go. That doesn't sound fun to me.

People who are 100 pounds overweight are carrying 10 bowling balls -- I'm tired at the end of the day -- how do they feel?

I guess the vanity issue isn't important to most, because they've gotten used to the new normal. I assume this is true when I see overweight women wearing tight, clinging outfits that allow their muffin tops to escape.

Personally, I don't care about living longer, but I want to feel good (and look OK) while I'm still alive.

Come on Al, she looks pretty good by me.

 

[W2R]

Personally, I don't care about living longer, but I want to feel good (and look OK) while I'm still alive.

I want to live longer, too. OK, so I'm greedy - - feeling and looking good are great, but there's more to want.

 

[Amethyst]

I tend to put the most credence in insurance companies' "healthy weight" tables. I figure insurance companies have had 200 years of cold, hard-eyed assessment of what correlates with living longer (and thus, with their profits). Naturally, individual results and statistics don't always match up.

It's funny that the tables are for women fully dressed and wearing 1-inch heels. No self-respecting woman ever leaves her shoes on while getting weighed!

Met life ideal height weight tables references

Amethyst

 

[Moemg]

It's funny that the tables are for women fully dressed and wearing 1-inch heels. No self-respecting woman ever leaves her shoes on while getting weighed!

Met life ideal height weight tables references

Amethyst

Absolutely ! As they near the scale I am already kicking off my shoes . According to Met Life I am at my ideal weight but I would still like to lose five pounds . It is a vanity thing !

 

[73ss454]

I was looking on the chart for the Super Duper Large Frame but can't seem to find it.
At 6'4" and 278 I guess I'm in big trouble but that's without heels and the chart doesn't go up that high.

 

[Tadpole]

First of all: how to eat pork rinds - Get a personal size bag; open bag; shake bag while adding Tabasco sauce to taste; enjoy.

Now here is the thing about fat, skinny, and living longer (IMO). Living longer is only rewarding when you enjoy it. If an occasional dish of black walnut ice cream makes you feel good, enjoy.

 

[eytonxav]

At 6'4" and 278 I guess I'm in big trouble but that's without heels and the chart doesn't go up that high.

You have incentive to lose 100 lbs, cause your 0-60 and 1/4m times will improve. As you well know, a racer needs to look for every possible edge.

 

[rgarling]

FWIW -- longevity is not the same as healthy. The final years of an obese person's life will not be the same as that of an active, healthy person. (At the same time, it is true that a small percentage of the obese can be metabolically healthy.)

 

[eytonxav]

I want to live longer, too. OK, so I'm greedy - - feeling and looking good are great, but there's more to want.

And who is that lovely young woman in the Avi? The smile almost seems to be that of someone who has just retired

 

[okapi]

Oatmeal Stout in the AM.Breakfast in a bottle.Good for mind,body and soul.

 

[W2R]

And who is that lovely young woman in the Avi? The smile almost seems to be that of someone who has just retired

Thanks for the compliment - -it is me in 1974, back in Hawaii. That is the happiness of youth with my whole life ahead of me, not the happiness of the newly retired. Had I known how much fun retirement is, and how long it would be until I could retire, maybe I would have looked a little glum.

 

[Midpack]

BMI is a pretty crude measurement as are any height weight tables which don't account for body fat or bone density. FWIW...Body Fat Measurement: Percentage Vs. Body Mass or Top 10 Reasons Why The BMI Is Bogus : NPR (I tried to choose more neutral websites, vs sports medicine et al).

"If we think of BMI being a rough measure of body fatness, there are people -- especially some highly trained athletes -- who are overweight but not overfat," says Heymsfield. "Likewise, there are people who are of a normal weight according to BMI scales but who are overfat. BMI is a broad, general measure of risk. Body-fat assessment is much more specific to your actual fat content and thus provides a more accurate picture."

 

[harley]

FWIW -- longevity is not the same as healthy. The final years of an obese person's life will not be the same as that of an active, healthy person. (At the same time, it is true that a small percentage of the obese can be metabolically healthy.)

I take issue with the "will not" part of this statement. No way to tell. The final years of an obese person could be happily spent stuffing their faces while watching Dr. Phil until zap! Massive heart attack. On the other hand the healthy active person could sink into a long battle with cancer, Alzheimers, or whatever, and spend their last years suffering. No way to tell. I suspect if you want to play the odds, healthy and active is a much better choice. But people tend to forget that some things just aren't ours to control.

 

[Bimmerbill]

The Met Life table only goes up to 6'4". Does that mean I can weigh as much as I want since I am off the chart?

 

[W2R]

The Met Life table only goes up to 6'4". Does that mean I can weigh as much as I want since I am off the chart?

Yes. I suggest ridiculously large quantities of chocolate.

 

[Midpack]

I take issue with the "will not" part of this statement. No way to tell. The final years of an obese person could be happily spent stuffing their faces while watching Dr. Phil until zap! Massive heart attack. On the other hand the healthy active person could sink into a long battle with cancer, Alzheimers, or whatever, and spend their last years suffering. No way to tell. I suspect if you want to play the odds, healthy and active is a much better choice. But people tend to forget that some things just aren't ours to control.

The good news is, there really isn't another sensible choice...

[CDC data]

 

[tmm99]

I haven't read the whole thread, but as far as women are concerned, to me, it makes sense that overweight women have less problems with osteoporosis since estrogen plays a big role in this disease. (My layman understanding is that overweight women have more estrogen - estrone (old person's estrogen past menopause) within their fat cells or something like that. Skinny women have less since they have less fat.) But this type of estrogen can be a cause of breast cancer too (overweight women on no hormone therapy can have tons of this bad estrogen.)

I am not sure if my understanding is a mainstream theory or not, but it's something I am sticking with.

What are the risk factors for breast cancer?

Being overweight or obese: Being overweight or obese is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, especially for women after change of life or if the weight gain took place during adulthood. But the link between weight and breast cancer risk is complex. The risk seems to be higher if the extra fat is around the waist.

Menopause, Estrogen, hormones, hormone replacement therapy, HRT, progesterone, menstrual cycles, sex, sexual development, reproductive system

At menopause the ovaries stop producing estrogen. However, the other sources continue to produce estrogen. But the total quantity available to the body is much smaller as the major contributor to the estrogen production, viz., ovaries, are not producing anymore. The important point to remember is that due to these other sources, the body does not just stop producing estrogen at menopause. Also, because of the estrogen converted by androgens in fat cells, over- weight women may suffer less from menopause-related problems, such as hot flashes and osteoporosis, which are related to estrogen depletion. Yet they can be more at risk for diseases that have been linked to estrogen output, such as endometrial and breast cancer. Researchers have shown that because overweight woman have less of the protein SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin) which serves as a carrier for estrogen, less estrogen is bound to SHBG. Therefore more estrogen remains more active or potent within their systems.

 

[Dreamer]

DW is 56 and weighs 116 with a BMI of 21.75. She has osteopenia and started doing strength training 6 years ago when it was first diagnosed. Kept it in check until 2 years ago when bone density slipped a little so she kept up the strength training and added Actonel, once per month. Bone density scan 2 weeks ago and density has actually incresed.

That is great to hear that your DW's density actually increased. I am going to continue the strength training and do a better job taking my calcium.

I would not care if I were to put on a little weight, except it seems to go straight to my belly, which is the dangerous area. I hate the way it looks too and would never be caught wearing that above outfit with a muffin top showing that way!

 

[Dreamer]

Thanks for the compliment - -it is me in 1974, back in Hawaii. That is the happiness of youth with my whole life ahead of me, not the happiness of the newly retired. Had I known how much fun retirement is, and how long it would be until I could retire, maybe I would have looked a little glum.

That is a very lovely picture!

 

[flyfishnevada]

Studies are done on large groups and the results if interpreted correctly only apply to populations as a whole. Applying a finding from a study to an individual is folly. They show trends, not absolutes.

Additionally, your personal experience/observations are not scientific. Just because you haven't seen 90 year old fat women, for instance, doesn't mean they don't' exist.

Fat folks tend to die younger than non fat folks. Not necessarily because they are fat, however. They die from complications of the lifestyle that makes them fat. Not all fat people live a lifestyle that results in those complications. Those individuals can and do live as long as people that aren't fat. They might even live longer.

The study that started this thread seems to be saying being fat is not bad for you. The lifestyle that makes many people fat (poor diet, overeating and being sedintary) is bad for you. Some fat people do not live that lifestyle and therefore are at no more risk of dying that thin folks.

Studies like this need to be taken for what they are. This one doesn't mean being fat is a good thing, just that some fat people are still healthy and they can expect a lifespan similar to thin people. I didn't read it, but does it address quality of that life? If not, then those healthy fat people might suffer from other issues that don't affect lifespan. Knee and back issues, mobility issues, etc.

Honestly, I think the worst thing about these studies and health care in general anymore is we are not treated as individuals. We belong to some group and are treated that way. Not just in the manner of care, but in how we feel about it. Just in this thread people have indicated preferences in their desire to live long or not. I'm from the enjoy it while you got it camp. I'd rather die at 65 from a heart attack and enjoy life along they way, than live till I'm 95 but spend my life constantly denying myself.

I like to eat and I am OK being fat. I might die young, but I am healthy and every test they take confirms that. That should be OK. I should be able to make that choice. It's my life and my body I should be able to do what I want with it, study or no.

 

[haha]

Fat folks tend to die younger than non fat folks. Not necessarily because they are fat, however. They die from complications of the lifestyle that makes them fat. Not all fat people live a lifestyle that results in those complications. Those individuals can and do live as long as people that aren't fat. They might even live longer.

The study that started this thread seems to be saying being fat is not bad for you. The lifestyle that makes many people fat (poor diet, overeating and being sedentary) is bad for you. Some fat people do not live that lifestyle and therefore are at no more risk of dying that thin folks.

Studies like this need to be taken for what they are. This one doesn't mean being fat is a good thing, just that some fat people are still healthy and they can expect a lifespan similar to thin people. I didn't read it, but does it address quality of that life? If not, then those healthy fat people might suffer from other issues that don't affect lifespan. Knee and back issues, mobility issues, etc.

Honestly, I think the worst thing about these studies and health care in general anymore is we are not treated as individuals. We belong to some group and are treated that way. Not just in the manner of care, but in how we feel about it. Just in this thread people have indicated preferences in their desire to live long or not. I'm from the enjoy it while you got it camp. I'd rather die at 65 from a heart attack and enjoy life along they way, than live till I'm 95 but spend my life constantly denying myself.

I like to eat and I am OK being fat. I might die young, but I am healthy and every test they take confirms that. That should be OK. I should be able to make that choice. It's my life and my body I should be able to do what I want with it, study or no.

I agree with you. The study does not address "quality of life." This usually winds up being a catch-all for the investigators prejudices- like we don't like fat people, therefore they must be unhealthy. Otherwise, the balance of our universe is threatened. At many places in society, there is almost a visceral loathing of overweight people. It is one of the last safe prejudices, and people need prejudices to maintain their tenuous self respect.

I do not myself like to be overweight. I likely associate it with the pain of trying to make weight for sports. But I respect others who are different- fat men are often very strong, and surprisingly quick. Most of them could knock the crap out of me, and a man typically sets some store by this. And fat women are hot, as long as being overweight does not destroy their self confidence. Who wants a woman who looks like a boy or man?

Ha

 

[Amethyst]

Me, I prefer "Strong = beautiful," no matter the weight.

Amethyst

IAnd fat women are hot, as long as being overweight does not destroy their self confidence. Who wants a woman who looks like a boy or man?

Ha