ScienceDaily (July 6, 2012) An evaluation of national data by UC
Davis researchers has found that extra weight is not necessarily
linked with a higher risk of death. When compared to those with
normal weight, people who were overweight or obese had no
increased risk of death during a follow-up period of six years.
People who were severely obese did have a higher risk, but only
if they also had diabetes or hypertension. The findings, which
appear in the July-August issue of The Journal of American Board
of Family Medicine, call into question previous studies — using
data collected when obesity was less common — linking higher
short-term mortality with any amount of extra weight. “There is
currently a widespread belief that any degree of overweight or
obesity increases the risk of death, however our findings
suggest this may not be the case,” stated Anthony Jerant,
professor of family and community medicine and lead author of
the study. “In the six-year time frame of our evaluation, we
found that only severe ob