People who are underweight have a risk of dying that is 1.8 time higher than those with a normal body mass index (BMI), and those who are obese are 1.2 times more likely to die than those of normal BMI, according to new Canadian research. BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. It can be calculated using online tools. Any measurement between 18.5–24.9 is considered normal.
Underweight and overweight fetuses at risk
In the same way as adults, underweight fetuses are more at risk of dying than are overweight ones. Researchers at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital analyzed 51 studies to come to these conclusions. Lead author Dr. Joel Ray says that the problem of being underweight in Canada is less about malnutrition and more about not having enough protein to maintain the muscle structure needed for good health.
People who are overweight, particularly those who have fat around the belly, have a high risk of dying from heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Those who are underweight have a high risk of dying from lung disease, psychiatric conditions, and excessive use of alcohol. Ray’s first conclusion is about better ways to measure a person’s body.
BMI not enough
“Body mass index is not a good enough measure of a person’s obesity-related risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and death,” says Ray. “We emphasize, as others have before us, abdominal obesity should be denoted using a tape measure around a person’s waist circumference and, in a cousin version, doing a waist- to-hip measurement.” Ray says that for the very thin person though, body mass index is useful because it is a measure both of body fat and muscle content.
Public health messages may be bad for some
‘Because so many Canadians are becoming obese, public health messages often warn about the dangers of overweight. Ray says these messages may be bad for those of normal weight because it may push them to lose pounds.
“In our modern, appropriate to curbing the obesity epidemic in our society…we need to be very cognizant of the risk that we may be taking people whose body mass or size is normal or sufficient or robustly healthy and we may be pushing them unintentionally into a lower weight category that we certainly don’t want.
The study was published in Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health.
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