Wait.What? Being Overweight May Not be so Bad?

Crazy days, crazy news. A study published January 1, 2013 in the Journal of the American Medical Association published their surprising findings that people with a Body Mass Index of 25-29 which is considered overweight, a BMI of 18 -24.9 is considered normal weight, were found to be 6 percent less likely to die a premature death than normal weight or the very obese. In an editorial published in the same journal issue, Dr. Steven B. Heymsfield and Dr. William T. Cefalu of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., wrote that small amounts of excess fat may provide needed energy reserves to fight off certain illnesses and offer beneficial effects for recovering from some types of traumatic injuries. They said these effects that should be examined for future studies. The doctors were quick and firm in saying that folks shouldn’t pack on the pounds in hopes to be a little healthier. They reiterated that their study was simply documenting statistical and medical findings.