THINNESS
For years, we have been saying it is unhealthy at any age to be overweight.
We have had a set of ideal weights for height and age and have exhorted our patients to lose weight and to conform to these ideals.
Our evidence was based on studies of American insurance companies from 1935 to 1953 but some doubt of the truth of these studies, as applied to the population at large, has been raised by studies in the U.S.
The inhabitants of Framingham, a small town near Boston, have been extensively studied over many years. A similar but not so extensive study was carried out at Busselton in WA.
This study showed that being markedly underweight as well as markedly overweight increases the risk of death.
The true significance of this has not yet been established and, until it is, it would be wise to avoid being fat. But there may be no advantage to being skinny.
If you are diabetic or have high blood pressure, reducing weight will greatly lower your risks of an earlier death.
Being either 10 per cent above or below ideal body weight poses no problem. Beyond this however we may run into health risks.
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