Once again, what we know about weight might, in fact, be wrong. First we had that study showing us that long-term weight loss is so damn hard because our bodies don’t want to lose weight. Now we have a study showing us that a higher BMI might be healthier than we think.
According to NPR, researchers in Denmark looked at 100,000 subjects from studies produced during the 1970s, the 1990s, and from 2003-2013. What they found was that back in the '70s, the BMI sweet spot for living longer was 23.7%.
In the the present, that sweet spot has risen to a BMI of 27. They also found that the risk of death (premature death, I assume, since all of us have a 100% risk of death over our lifetimes, but I digress) for people with a BMI of over 30 has declined, now on par with so-called "normal" weight.
So, what does all of this mean? Well, one thing it might mean is that BMI is bullshit and its significance is miniscule. But I’m not a scientist, so what do I know? The scientists in question postulate that medical and technological developments are responsible for increased longevity at all weights, due to treatment of cardiovascular issues sometimes associated with a higher BMI.
They admit, however, that they need to spend a long time looking at the data to come to any real conclusions.
What does this mean for all of us? Mostly, it’s an interesting talking point for to rebut any jerk trying to tell you how to feel about your weight.
In reality, we should be consulting with our own individual doctors about our own individual health statuses because giant studies don’t tell us diddly-squat about our own bodies (and neither do BMIs, for the most part).
