Losing Weight Doesn't Mean You'll Live Longer

Posting Date: 08/16/1999

It makes me feel good when researchers confirm what I?ve been trying to tell you about weight loss and health.

When I was writing my book, "Eat, Drink and Be Merry," I was up at 4 a.m., on a dark, quiet morning when everyone else was sleeping, writing my chapter on obesity. Here are the words I penned: "No one has ever shown that a person who is 150 pounds and loses 30 pounds to weigh 120 accrues the health benefits of a person who was 120 pounds all along."

My message is there?s no proof that losing weight makes you live longer or become healthier.

Now a new study agrees, saying there is no compelling evidence to show that mortality rates are reduced with weight loss.

University of Virginia researcher Glenn Gaesser says the belief that fatter people die earlier is based on faulty studies and misinterpretation, particularly when it comes to analyzing diets. Obese people, he says, may be more at-risk of death because of such things as avoiding exercise and the benefits that result, according to an article published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

Of course, this is all very subtle and we have to approach the weight question gingerly. Weight gain, for example, can be unhealthy. If you gain a lot of weight and get diabetes or heart disease, then all bets are off.

Other studies have shown that weight loss can increase the risk of death in some people when compared to those whose weight is stable.

My point is that simply being overweight doesn?t mean you have to diet. Being slightly overweight might even give some benefits. I?ve told you how one doctor I know points out that if you strip away the fat from an obese person, you?ll be looking at a very muscular frame. That?s because of all the extra weight being carried around every day.

At any rate, there?s no proof that losing weight will help you live longer. The best thing is to avoid sudden changes in your weight, get moderate exercise and eat a sensible diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, August 1999.

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