Have you stored a little extra fat to carry you through the cold
months of Canadian winter? You aren’t alone. While a glance at a
magazine stand might persuade you otherwise, the majority of
Canadians are overweight according to standard medical
definitions. Born from our collective discontent over our size
is a multibillion dollar weight loss industry; pervasive
advertising cheers us on towards shrinking dimensions. So
prevalent is the discourse regarding dieting and weight loss we
have, as a society, come to believe than thinner is better. But
is it possible that as we jog towards a leaner tomorrow, we have
lost track of why we want to lose weight? Any potential health
benefits have, for some, melded into to more superficial
concerns such as fitting into a bikini and vanquishing
cellulite. As emergency physicians, patients often ask us if
weight loss would be beneficial to them. Our answer is usually
based on our calculation of body-mass index, which is a person’s
weight in kilograms divided by the square o