Fun_People Archive
14 Jun
Skinny vs. Fat vs. Ex-Fat

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 98 19:22:12 -0700
To: Fun_People
Precedence: bulk
Subject: Skinny vs. Fat vs. Ex-Fat

X-Lib-of-Cong-ISSN: 1098-7649
From: Vicki Rosenzweig <vr@zebra.acm.org>

Before you diet, though, here's something to keep in mind:

We have a subscription to Science magazine, which recently did a special
section on weight regulation, obesity, health, etc. They have some evidence
that obesity correlates with certain health problems, though there are
oddities even there--for example, the effect vanishes in people over 70,
and being thin is actually a risk factor for osteoporosis.  However, despite
decades of searching, nobody has been able to find any evidence that losing
weight improves health. In other words, we fat people may be at risk--but
there's no apparent difference in longevity or health between fat people and
ex-fat people. This might be an argument for trying not to gain weight in
the first place, but it's definitely something to bear in mind if your
doctor tries to convince you to lose weight.

© 1998 Peter Langston