Can't shed those last 10 pounds of baby weight? Don't! Being a little fat might actually help you survive illnesses such as pneumonia and emphysema, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight people also seemed less likely to die from some types of injuries and infections, according to the study.
Being fat is healthy? That's too good to be true! Indeed, it is. But not that much.
Extra fat still contributes to diabetes and kidney disease. But a new study found that up to 25 extra pounds (yessssss!) doesn't increase the risk of death from heart disease or cancer. But being obese -- that's scoring a BMI of 30 points or higher -- does. So, it's okay to be fat, but not too fat.
This whole fat-is-fine conundrum has doctors baffled. (No word on how self-righteous skinny people are taking the news.) The studies seem to contribute to the once-ignored idea that it is indeed possible to be fit and fat. One obesity expert says this news might also calm what he calls the "obesity epidemic hysteria."
A heart specialist, however, worries that the results might be misinterpreted and misleading. For example, a death certificate might have listed a diabetic's cause of death as diabetes, when actually heart disease contributed to the person's demise. He vows that this CDC report won't be the last word. (Those heart guys are such downers!)
Should we take our eyes of the scale? Rework the BMI chart? Forget about the pounds, embrace size 16 fourth-graders and just work on fitness?
