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'Fat' people live longer

By Daniel Smith on Jun 25, 09 12:32 PM

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Ever played Wii Fit? The game measures your Body Mass Index (BMI), if you fall into the overweight range the computer version of you will expand like a balloon.

Well fear not, the Register reports being a bit chubby will mean you'll outlive the fitness freaks.

Scientists in America and Canada carried out a study of BMI and lifespan - they found those people who were underweight or extremely obese did die sooner than people who were of an 'ideal' weight.

But the folks who lived the longest were chunky (having a BMI between 25-30, which the medical community says is 'overweight').

Interestingly, those with an ideal BMI ran very similar risks of death to those who are tagged as merely obese.

The BMI has long been criticised - for instance it doesn't distinguish between flubber and muscle.

Even so, you should cherish your beer belly instead of looking on enviously with people with six packs, they might look better but you'll be around for longer.

From now on I'm eating more cookies!

Weird Science Factoid: You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world. But I'm not sharing any cake!

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1 Comments

BlackCountryJo said:

Hooray...... I'm healthy!

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Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith - a long time ago, in a galaxy far away just north of Watford, Daniel fancied himself as a scientist but turned out to be the worst scientist since that bloke who mapped out all those canals on Mars that turned out to be scratches on his telescope's lens. Luckily, he is now not working on the Large Hadron Collider inadvertently creating a black hole that would swallow the world but is safely behind a desk writing this blog, bringing you the fantastical underbelly of nature... weird science.

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