Re: Obesity Danger May Have Been Overstated
- From: "elgoog" <bjdefend-newsgroups@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 19 Apr 2005 19:17:19 -0700
outrider wrote:
> dog...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > Article:
> >
> > By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
> >
> > CHICAGO - Being overweight is nowhere near as big a killer as the
> > government thought, ranking No. 7 instead of No. 2 among the
nation's
> > leading preventable causes of death, according to a startling new
> > calculation from the CDC.
> >
> > Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
> reported
> > that packing on too many pounds accounts for 25,814 deaths a year
in
> > the United States. As recently as January, the CDC came up with an
> > estimate 14 times higher: 365,000 deaths.
> >
> >
> > The new analysis found that obesity - being extremely overweight -
> > is indisputably lethal. But like several recent smaller studies, it
> > found that people who are modestly overweight actually have a lower
> > risk of death than those of normal weight.
> >
> >
> > Biostatistician Mary Grace Kovar, a consultant for the University
of
> > Chicago's National Opinion Research Center in Washington, said
> "normal"
> > may be set too low for today's population. Also, Americans
classified
> > as overweight are eating better, exercising more and managing their
> > blood pressure better than they used to, she said.
> >
> >
> > The study - an analysis of mortality rates and body-mass index, or
> > BMI - was published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
> > Association.
> >
> >
> > Last year, a CDC study listed the leading causes of preventable
death
> > in order as tobacco; poor diet and inactivity, leading to excess
> > weight; alcohol; germs; toxins and pollutants; car crashes; guns;
> risky
> > sexual behavior; and illicit drugs.
> >
> >
> > Using the new estimate, excess weight would drop behind car crashes
> and
> > guns to seventh place - a ranking the CDC is unwilling to make
> > official, underscoring the controversy inside the agency over how
to
> > calculate the health effects of obesity.
> >
> >
> > Last year, the CDC issued a study that attributed 400,000 deaths a
> year
> > to mostly weight-related causes and said excess weight would soon
> > overtake tobacco as the top U.S. killer. After scientists inside
and
> > outside the agency questioned the figure, the CDC admitted making a
> > calculation error and lowered its estimate three months ago to
> 365,000.
> >
> >
> >
> > The new study attributes 111,909 deaths to obesity, but then
> subtracts
> > the benefits of being modestly overweight, and arrives at the
25,814
> > figure.
> >
> >
> > CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said because of the uncertainty
in
> > calculating the health effects of being overweight, the CDC is not
> > going to use the new figure of 25,814 in its public awareness
> > campaigns. And it is not going to scale back its fight against
> obesity.
> >
> >
> >
> > "There's absolutely no question that obesity is a major public
health
> > concern of this country," she said. Gerberding said the CDC will
work
> > to improve methods for calculating the consequences of obesity.
> >
> >
> > CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said the agency will probably start using
a
> > range of estimates for obesity-linked deaths.
> >
> >
> > Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and
Women's
> > Hospital in Boston, said she is not convinced the new estimate is
> > right.
> >
> >
> > "I think it's likely there has been a weakening of the mortality
> effect
> > due to improved treatments for obesity," she said. "But I think
this
> > magnitude is surprising and requires corroboration."
> >
> >
> > The analysis was led by Katherine Flegal, a senior research
scientist
> > with the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The study
that
> > had to be corrected was conducted by a different arm of the CDC,
the
> > Division of Adult and Community Health, and its authors included
> > Gerberding.
> >
> >
> > One major reason for the far lower number in this latest study is
> that
> > it used more recent data, researchers said.
> >
> >
> > "This analysis is far more sophisticated," said Kovar, who was not
> > involved in the new study. "They are very careful and are not
> > overstating their case."
> >
> >
> > A related study, also in Wednesday's JAMA, found that overweight
> > Americans are healthier than ever, thanks to better maintenance of
> > blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Diabetes is on the rise
among
> > people in all weight categories, however.
> >
> > Flegal said the two studies raise questions about what definitions
to
> > use for obesity and "where to draw the line." Under current
> government
> > standards, a BMI, or weight-to-height measurement, of 25 or higher
is
> > overweight; 30 and above is obese.
> >
> > In recent years, the government has spent millions of dollars
> fighting
> > obesity and publicizing the message that two out of three American
> > adults are overweight or obese, and at higher risk for heart
disease,
> > arthritis and diabetes.
> >
> > Link to JAMA Vol. 293 No. 15, April 20, 2005 FULL STUDY W/CHARTS:
> > http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/15/1861
>
>
>
> "A related study, also in Wednesday's JAMA, found that overweight
> Americans are healthier than ever, thanks to better maintenance of
> blood pressure and cholesterol levels."
>
>
> It's great people are maintaining blood pressure and cholesterol
> levels. Are they doing this with meds instead of diet, exercise, and
> lifestyle modifications? Then I don't think, in the long run, they
are
> healthier. In fact they run a huge risk of taking more meds, to treat
> the side effects of the first meds. {All drugs have side effects}.
>
> People might also be healthier than ever if some sanity entered the
> picture on what exactly causes cardiovascular disease--it isn't high
> cholesterol--what are realistic and reasonable levels of cholesterol
> and blood pressure for health, not the stockholder's portfolio, and
> acceptance of the fact that those reasonable levels can, except in
VERY
> rare circumstances, be achieved by diet and exercise.
>
> It seems that the recent news story was right: Americans take more
meds
> than any other country. People have been convinced by the food porn
> manufacturers that they can have their it both ways; their cake, and
> health from a pill.
>
>
> Zee
> Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #2 in c, Op. 18
> http://www.ckua.com
You beat me to it. For those who are interested, here is a link to the
JAMA article. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/15/1861
.
- References:
- Obesity Danger May Have Been Overstated
- From: dog_dx
- Re: Obesity Danger May Have Been Overstated
- From: outrider
- Obesity Danger May Have Been Overstated
- Prev by Date: Re: New food pyramid coming
- Next by Date: New question for Dr. Andrew Chung
- Previous by thread: Re: Obesity Danger May Have Been Overstated
- Next by thread: Re: Obesity Danger May Have Been Overstated
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
Loading
