Forget what some skinny gym instructor tells you – it appears bigger is sometimes better, particularly as people get older.A new Australian study has found that “overweight” people over the age of 70 are actually less likely to die over
Forget what some skinny gym instructor tells you – it appears bigger is sometimes better, particularly as people get older.
A new Australian study has found that “overweight” people over the age of 70 are actually less likely to die over a 10-year period than their peers in the “normal” weight range.
The study, which was published on January 28 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, contradicts other research that suggests being overweight leads to a long list of health problems such as heart disease.
"Our study suggests that those people who survive to age 70 in reasonable health have a different set of risks and benefits associated with the amount of body fat to younger people," said lead researcher Leon Flicker, of the University of Western Australia.
The four categories used in the study – underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese – were determined using the body mass index.
Those who were overweight were at a 13% lower risk of death compared to those in the normal weight range but there was no benefit for those who were obese.
The study also found that being sedentary doubled the risk of death for women and increased it by a quarter for men.
