Re: Half of Overweight Adults May Be Heart-Healthy

[Guest guest]

Hi MD:

Thanks for posting this. For those who are interested here is a link to the full text:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/168/15/1617

I have so many misgivings about the relevance of it to us here, that I am not going to spend (waste?) the time enumerating them.

Rodney.

>> Washington Post article > http://tinyurl.com/5od7od> > Snippet below. Clickthrough the link for the full article.> ----> The first national estimate of its kind bolsters the argument that > you can be hefty but still healthy, or at least healthier than has > been believed. > > The results also show that stereotypes about body size can be > misleading, and that even "less voluptuous" people can have risk > factors commonly associated with obesity, said study author Fran > Sowers, a University of Michigan obesity researcher. > > "We're really talking about taking a look with a very different lens" > at weight and health risks, Sowers said. > > In the study, about 51 percent of overweight adults, or roughly 36 > million people nationwide, had mostly normal levels of blood > pressure, cholesterol, blood fats called triglycerides and blood > sugar. > > Almost one-third of obese adults, or nearly 20 million people, also > were in this healthy range, meaning that none or only one of those > measures was abnormal. > > Yet about a fourth of adults in the recommended-weight range had > unhealthy levels of at least two of these measures. That means some > 16 million of them are at risk for heart problems. > > It's no secret that thin people can develop heart-related problems > and that fat people often do not. But that millions defy the > stereotypes will come as a surprise to many people.>