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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday March 18 2018, @04:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the weighty-research dept.

The idea that it might be possible to be overweight or obese but not at increased risk of heart disease, otherwise known as the "obesity paradox," has been challenged by a study of nearly 300,000 people published in in the European Heart Journal today (Friday).

This latest research shows that the risk of heart and blood vessel problems, such as heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure, increases as body mass index (BMI) increases beyond a BMI of 22-23 kg/m2. Furthermore, the risk also increases steadily the more fat a person carries around their waist.

[...] Although it is already known that being overweight or obese increases a person's risk of CVD [cardiovascular disease], as well as other diseases such as cancer, there have also been studies that have suggested that, particularly in the elderly, being overweight or even obese might not have any effect on deaths from CVD or other causes, and may even be protective, especially if people maintain a reasonable level of fitness. This is known as the "obesity paradox."

However, the authors of the EHJ study say their results refute these previous, conflicting findings. "Any public misconception of a potential 'protective' effect of fat on heart and stroke risks should be challenged," said Dr Iliodromiti.

She continued: "This is the largest study that provides evidence against the obesity paradox in healthy people. It is possible that the story may be different for those with pre-existing disease because there is evidence that in cancer patients, for instance, being slightly overweight is associated with lower risk, especially as cancer and its treatments can lead to unhealthy weight loss.

[...] The researchers suggest that the previous confusion over the "obesity paradox" may be due to many factors that can confound results of studies. For instance, smoking changes the distribution of fat in the body, smokers may have lower weight as smoking depresses appetites and so BMI tends to be lower. Another reason could be that some people have existing but undiagnosed disease, which can often lower their weight but also makes them more likely to die prematurely.


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  • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 18 2018, @03:45PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 18 2018, @03:45PM (#654503)

    No, the BMI was originally developed in the 19th century by Adolphe Quetelet

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index#History [wikipedia.org]

    Dr. Keys didn't even come along until over a hundred years later.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @03:29AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 19 2018, @03:29AM (#654674)

    According to your own link:

    The interest in an index that measures body fat came with increasing obesity in prosperous Western societies. BMI was explicitly cited by Keys as appropriate for population studies and inappropriate for individual evaluation.

    (Emphasis added). Dr. Keys might not have invented BMI himself, but it was his analysis in 1972 that showed it to be useful as a population metric for obesity. And the study of the TFA is of course exactly the sort of population study Dr. Keys found that BMI was perfectly appropriate for. No, if you want to argue the results of the study you need to find some other objection to it than its use of BMI, which is 100% appropriate in the context.