A new study says being overweight is a problem after all. Link. Excerpt:
That study in the July Health Affairs classified people as obese (Body Mass Index above 30), overweight (above 25), and normal (below 25). Granted that “normal” is something of misnomer in a country where only a third of adults are below that 25 BMI level. It then compared medical expenditures for these three categories in 1987 and 2002.
To do so it looked at nine physical conditions aggravated by extra poundage, plus “mental disorders.” For all nine of the physical conditions in 2002, “overweight” persons fared WORSE than “normal” ones. They were almost three times likelier to have type 2 diabetes and well over twice as likely to have high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
But the obese suffer far more. They were more than twice as likely to suffer arthritis, asthma, heart disease, and upper gastrointestinal problems compared to “normal” persons. They were more than six times likelier to suffer diabetes and more than four times likelier to have hypertension.
So much for those grabby April headlines like the New York Times's “Some Extra Heft May Be Helpful,” and AP's “Study: Being Overweight Isn't So Deadly After All.” The old message was right all along ”“ excess fat kills and cripples. It also costs us big bucks, the main message of the Health Affairs article.
