Saturday, April 23, 2005
Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight and obesity was a report released on the 20th April 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It caused quite a stir in the press and I thought I would add my two penneth.
The whole data in the report is a very big challenge to analyze. Doctors will interpret the results in many different ways. What is a safe level of body fat is open to debate. Obesity, when it is gross - is a killer. Obesity is easy to spot as the person wobbles towards you. There is no way to stop the fat wobbling and it cannot be hidden. The ideal BMI is debatable as the results of this report show. I think that these ideal BMI figures are set too low. A slightly higher normal range would give the margin of body fat to enable fitness in ill health or bad times and ensure that the body has the full quotient of nutrients.
I do not think that the medical profession should stop discouraging obesity but should set their guidelines to allow a heavier normal range. Each person knows how they feel and should not want to carry excess baggage. We have evolved through nature so that we can go without food for short periods, nature knows best. Live how you feel best, do not graze like cattle and wobble off the sofa but there is no need in the Western world to have your ribs showing. Enjoy your food but do not overeat or the diabetes monster will get you.
The whole data in the report is a very big challenge to analyze. Doctors will interpret the results in many different ways. What is a safe level of body fat is open to debate. Obesity, when it is gross - is a killer. Obesity is easy to spot as the person wobbles towards you. There is no way to stop the fat wobbling and it cannot be hidden. The ideal BMI is debatable as the results of this report show. I think that these ideal BMI figures are set too low. A slightly higher normal range would give the margin of body fat to enable fitness in ill health or bad times and ensure that the body has the full quotient of nutrients.
I do not think that the medical profession should stop discouraging obesity but should set their guidelines to allow a heavier normal range. Each person knows how they feel and should not want to carry excess baggage. We have evolved through nature so that we can go without food for short periods, nature knows best. Live how you feel best, do not graze like cattle and wobble off the sofa but there is no need in the Western world to have your ribs showing. Enjoy your food but do not overeat or the diabetes monster will get you.
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