The New York Times reports that a new comprehensive study jointly conducted by the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that contrary to what we’ve generally been taught, being a little overweight may actually be good for your health. The article notes that although those who are obese are still likely to be more at risk for illnesses, being slightly overweight seems to be associated with lower rates of mortality:

The study did not explain why overweight appeared best as far as mortality was concerned. But Dr. Williamson said the reason might be that most people die when they are over 70. Having a bit of extra fat in old age appears to be protective, he said, giving rise to more muscle and more bone. . .

Estimating deaths due to overweight or obesity is a statistical challenge, the study’s investigators said. The idea is to determine, for each person in the population, what would be the risk of dying if that person’s weight were normal. But what happens to the risk for people whose weight is above or below the normal range? The idea is to control for factors like age, smoking and gender, and ask what would happen if only the weight were changed. . .

“The take-home message from this study, it seems to me, is unambiguous,” Dr. Glassner said. “What is officially deemed overweight these days is actually the optimal weight.”

That finding is a little surprising. It would have been nice to hear about possible reasons why being slightly overweight may actually improve your mortality chances. Nonetheless, I take the results as a positive sign -- I guess there’s still hope for me yet.