Overweight People Live Longer: Study

Looking beyond lack of willpower

(NEWSER) - The number of overweight Americans keeps, umm, ballooning, but why? LiveScience looks past self-control issues and too little exercise to some less-discussed factors. So many of us are fat because of:

1. The government: 29 million Americans instantly became overweight in 1998 when the government lowered the overweight threshold from a body-mass index of 28 to 25.
2. Better hygiene: As antibiotics and anti-bacterial soaps killed off "bad bacteria," they also eliminated the competition, possibly allowing intestinal bacteria that increase appetite and suck more calories from food to prosper.

Study also find US has highest BMI among high-income countries

(NEWSER) - Almost half a billion adults—10% of the adult population worldwide—were obese as of 2008, a new study finds. That’s nearly twice the 1980 rate, reports Scientific American . On average, each decade has seen a body mass index inch up 0.4 to an average of 23.8 in 2008; a BMI of more than 25 is considered overweight, while more than 30 is labeled obese. "Obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are no longer Western problems or problems of wealthy nations," said a scientist. More»

Internet uproar ensues over 'sizeist' blog post

(NEWSER) - Marie Claire should have seen this backlash coming: The Internet is not happy with Maura Kelly, the Marie Claire writer who authored “Should Fatties Get a Room? (Even on TV?),” a post about new sitcom Mike & Molly. Among the ill-advised comments Kelly made about the show, which follows a couple who met at Overeaters Anonymous: “I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other … I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room.” More»

Obesity, smoking blamed as US falls behind in death rate before 60

(NEWSER) - America is lagging far behind other countries in preventing premature death among adults and now ranks behind Chile, Tunisia, and Peru, warn the authors of a new study. The researchers analyzed data on deaths before age 60 and found that over the last 20 years, the US has tumbled from 34th in female mortality and 41st in male to 49th for women and 45th for men, Reuters reports. Icelandic men and Cypriot women are the most likely to see their 60th birthdays. More»

In study, 50% would like to be 3 sizes skinnier for popularity

(NEWSER) - Half of the 6-year-old girls in Britain would like to be a lot skinnier than they are. That’s the conclusion of a Cambridge study that asked the pint-size participants to choose an ideal body from digitally altered photographs of themselves. Fifty percent went with the skinniest image, which was three sizes smaller than their actual body. Many said that having a tinier frame would make them more popular, reports the Telegraph . More»