An alarming reason to shed any excess fat...

My dear fatties (at heart),

I'm just the messenger here and am only trying to help. I don't want to be bumped out of line at restaurants, or have the Fat Mafia (responsible for Oprah's success and the creation of KFC's "Double Down" sandwich) put a hit on me for what I'm about to tell you...because...well, if you're fat, news like this is very annoying. I remember well.

Seriously though, I try to keep my blog upbeat, but a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported on by Stephanie Nano of the Associated Press in an article titled "Study Says Even Being a Bit Overweight is Risky," gives a grim reason why ANY excess fat is a bad idea: "healthy white (the study focused on white participants because they were the vast majority) adults who were overweight were 13 PERCENT MORE LIKELY TO DIE during the time they were followed in the study than those whose weight is in an ideal range (defined in the study as a body mass index between 22.5 and 24.9)."

Dr. Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society, the senior author on the study, clarifies further: "having a little extra meat on your bones — if that meat happens to be fat — is harmful, not beneficial."

With the study complete, Amy Berrington of the National Cancer Institute claims "now there's really a very large body (I'm sure no pun was intended) of evidence which supports the finding that being overweight is associated with a small increased risk of death."

One more thing about the study...apparently it began after a controversial report was given by the Centers for Disease Control back in 2005 that claimed being overweight offered some health benefits (read both for more details). I actually remember hearing about that report on the news and curtailing a diet I was on at the time as a result!

The bottom line is it's in our best interest, if we're interested in extending our lives, to be within that defined BMI range (the only exception for exceeding it would be for excessive muscle mass and a low body fat percentage).

I know how fun it can be to be fat, but I also know how miserable it can be, and I'm telling you, it's better to be lean. Commit with me to either reach or maintain the defined BMI range, or "sweet spot," in 2011.

As far as the Fat Mafia is concerned, I'd ask a fatty to be my food tester but him/her reaching the sweet spot is more important to me than my own life.

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