A infantile fixation with youth and stunner is not new for our refinement . But our obsession with thinness is . We equate a slender frame and a low soundbox pot index ( BMI ) with winner , sexuality prayer , and health , and punish those who don’t — or can’t — have these qualities . Doctorsall - too - frequently discriminate against overweight mass , attributing all their patient role ’ problems to their body type and overlook other issue . The mark is real , it ’s dangerous , and it ’s irrational . New research published in theInternational Journal of Obesityshows that heavy and obese mass are often just as intelligent , and sometimes healthier , than people of " normal " weightiness .
BMI has become a stenography for both body chassis and health , despite protest from researchers . In addition to the social mark and poor medical caution , people with high body mass index can face real fiscal obstacles . Many U.S. clientele now declare oneself employee incentive for weight loss and low BMIs . A proposalfrom the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would , if enacted , permit indemnity companies to charge more for masses who are fleshy or corpulent .
A. Janet Tomiyama , direct source of the young UCLA study published in theInternational Journal of Obesity , thinks this is ungrounded and unjust . Ina press statementfor the subject field she say , " Many hoi polloi see obesity as a death sentence , but the datum show there are tens of billion of people who are heavy and obese and are perfectly healthy . "
" There are healthy masses who could be penalized base on a incorrect health measure , while the unhealthy people of normal weight unit will fly under the radar and wo n’t get charged more for their health insurance , " she go forward . " employer , policy makers and policy troupe should sharpen on factual health markers . "
Tomiyama and her colleagues analyzed datum from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey ( NHANES ) , which took place from 2005 to 2012 . They compared the great unwashed ’s BMI categories with rake pressure , cholesterol , insulin immunity , triglycerides , and blood sugar — literal wellness marker , in other words .
The results told an indisputable storey . “ almost half of heavy somebody , 29 pct of obese individuals , and even 16 per centum of [ exceedingly corpulent ] individuals were metabolically tidy , ” the authors write . “ Moreover , over 30 percent of normal weight someone were cardiometabolically insalubrious . ”
The old mode of thinking can hurt everyone . Just as fleshy and corpulent citizenry are assumed to be unhealthy , the reverse is true for those with lower BMI . The sign of malady can be overlook in those who tally our cultural melodic theme of what “ wellness ” looks like .
Speaking in the press statement , co - source Jeffrey Hunger tell he was ready for change . " This should be the concluding nail in the casket for BMI , ” he concluded .
