Weight And Prosperity

Now we’re not talking here about morbid obesity where a person is overweight by 100 pounds or more. But those extra pounds on your hips, thighs or tummy may not be so bad.  In fact, in earlier times if a person was too skinny it was thought that he wasn’t prosperous.  For example, if you wanted to become the Mayor of a small town in Europe you actually had to have a little more girth than usual because it showed that you obviously were successful in business – you could afford to eat well.  And take Luciano Pavarotti for example, what well-respected opera singer cares about being thin? 

An Epidemic?

However, medical studies persist, predicting that a person may lose up to five years off a normal life span due to the overweight epidemic.  Yes, many are calling this an “epidemic.”  But there apparently is another side to this issue. As a result a flurry of new books are now out, confronting what the authors condemn as a bunch of overblown claims – many made just to enhance careers, increase business, and get lucrative government grants.  And, the government seems to be eagerly complicit.  For example the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims the current overweight epidemic is more serious than any previous ones. Really? The flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919 killed an estimated 40 million people worldwide, including 675,000 in the U.S. 

The Right BMI?

One doctor claims that people are actually being forced to maintain an unrealistic weight.  Dr. Paul F. Compos of the University of Colorado says that because of genetics, for many people it is virtually impossible to attain a normal government sanctioned BMI or Body Mass Index (the so-called ideal height to weight ratio).  So, is there any data to back up claims on either side?

Weight And Disease

It is true that people in the U.S. are getting fatter.  The figures are irrefutable.  Guidelines set by the US Dept. of Agriculture state that a high incidence of being overweight increases the risk for heart attacks, premature death, hypertension, stroke, gout, and any number of conditions. To the contrary, according to doctors on the other side of the issue, diabetes has indeed gone up (slightly) between 1960 and 2000 but heart disease and cerebrovasular diseases have actually declined (markedly).  Also, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, prevalence in high blood pressure and cholesterol actually declined between the years 1960 and 2000.  Further, Scientific American cites a graph showing the incidence of prostrate cancer, as well as cancer of the lungs and colon have declined between the years 1990 and 2000.  Also, it is a widely-known fact that, despite AIDS, pollution, and being overweight, people are living longer today in the U.S. than ever before.  At the turn of the 20th century the average life span was a little over 40 years.  Today it is 75. 

The Media

Just maybe we should start looking at underweight people instead.  Katherine Flegal, a senior research scientist at the Centers for Disease Control reports in JAMA that previous studies showing that 300,000 or more people die prematurely each year due to being overweight was fraught with research bias and errors. On the other hand, she says that being underweight is more of a factor in premature death.  So the controversy continues and actually this is a good sign because it is supposed to foster vigorous well-researched debate.  So far the media apparently only wants to report one side.  Authors Michael Gard and Jan Wright published a study showing that between the years 1990 and 2005 more than 5500 articles appeared in newspapers across the country, taking only the “overweight” point of view.  According to them, this oversimplified the problem and reinforced prejudices and assumptions. 

The “Overweight” Bandwagon

Clearly there is far more money to be made on the “overweight” bandwagon.  Take the growing number of weight loss programs in the country, not to mention the millions of so-called diet pills sold and the ever popular diet books that have appeared over the years on the New York Times best-selling list.  And as previously alluded to, the government is throwing money at the problem.  For example, the National Institutes of Health increased its funding for obesity research to $440 million.  And then there are the lawsuits against such food chain giants as McDonalds, with lawyers trying to wring billions of dollars out of them in class action cases for knowingly making weak people fat.    

New Studies Needed

But certainly there must be something to the claims that being obese can hurt you.  Well, some scientists are now calling for a whole new approach to looking at the problem, not what the government has long dictated as “normal.”  Some say the BMI needs to be re-examined and genetics needs to be taken into account, and that the “healthy weight range” needs to be expanded.  Also, new studies need to be done which more accurately examine why major diseases are in decline.  One side says, “see, being overweight is not a factor in getting sick or dying.”  Other researchers say, “not so fast – we’ve made great strides in medical diagnosis and treatment to offset the overweight factor.”  The answer is obviously complicated and much more so than the media wants.  There is no much thing as a “complicated sound byte.”

The Money In Losing Weight 

In the meantime Americans are still trying harder than ever to be “normal.”  Ali Mokdad, Chief of the CDC’s Behavioral Surveillance, says that 75% of adults in the U.S. are trying to either lose or maintain their weight.  That’s SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT!  And they’re spending $46 billion on weight-loss products and services to do it.  Also, weight reduction surgeries have jumped from 36,700 in 2000 to 140,000 in 2004.

Gaining It Back

Now we come to the claims that losing weight can actually be counter-productive.  A large study of nurses reported that 39 percent of women who lost weight not only gained it all back but added another 10 pounds as well.  Many experts say this is typical.  Not only that but the yo-yo effect of losing, gaining, losing, gaining can throw the body’s metabolism way off balance with serious implications.

Finally, growing older with a few extra pounds seems to be beneficial.  Dr. Flegal says that having a nutritional reserve seems to make people more resilient if they are hospitalized.  And there is the “quality of life” factor.  Many people like to eat a good meal.   They enjoy going out to dinner with friends.  The food tastes good and it makes them feel good, butter and all.  And they look forward to watching all those shows on the Cooking Channel.  It is clear that being severely overweight can be a problem.  But more and better studies obviously need to be done to determine what is a healthy weight. In the meantime, pass the pie!