Fat People Have Lower Mortality Risk, Study Suggests

Those who are considered slightly overweight need not panic

Don’t feel so bad if you (again) fail at your weight loss resolution this year. A new study by the National Center for Health Statistics suggests people slightly overweight had less risk of dying than people of normal weight. And while people who are obese have a greater mortality risk overall, those on the lower end of the obesity scale were not more likely to die than normal-weight people. Having a body mass index of 25 to 29.9 is overweight. The obesity level is a B.M.I of 30 to 34.9. The study’s findings, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, are not the first to suggest a relationship between body mass index and mortality, but it is the largest and most comprehensive, experts say. (New York Times)

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