China: are you old and fat? You will live longer!
A research from the Chinese Center for Diseases seems to want to overturn the common thought related to body weight, health-related overweight, at least for Chinese over 80s. It has always been confirmed that keeping weight under control was a viaticum for lower mortality risks, but from now on, at least for the Chinese over 80, it seems to no longer be the case. In fact, a research by the Chinese Center for Disease Prevention and Control, made on 27,000 individuals over 80, found that being overweight or having even slight obesity could be a good guarantee for lower mortality from all diseases. Cardiovascular is the only exception. And the calculation was done on the phase ofBody Mass Index (BMI) where the optimal one for the elderly was between 26 and 30.6, when the overweight index starts at 25 and obesity at 29.
China, an age-appropriate BMI
Body mass index (BMI) is a measure that detects the body’s mass concentration and the proportion between weight and height. Obviously being outside the BMI indices leads to greater risks for cardiovascular or oncological diseases. But now the Chinese study, published by Nature Aging, indicates that probably this paradigm may not apply to Chinese over 80s. The finding demonstrates that perhaps BMI indications should be tailored to this particular group of older people. However, this discovery, while not the first to arrive at these conclusions, has not yet received much response in American, European or Australian healthcare settings. Many health professionals, on the other hand, are competing in believing that the recommendations for healthy living cannot be changed based on a single study and excess weight should be avoided at all ages. It is also true, however, that obesity problems change with age. You could have sarcopenic obesity, that is when the weight is maintained but the body composition changes: fat increases and muscles decrease.
China always useful for seniors healthy diet and exercise
And this consideration makes it important in the elderly, in addition to a good diet, also physical exercise to maintain the musculature. In addition, the study noted that some cardiovascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol or blood pressure, are linked to better health and higher survival rates among older people. The head of the study, Dr. Xiaoming, in explaining this sort of obesity paradox, observes that “being overweight can be a sign of better nutritional status, which would compensate for the risks of weighing too much, and stresses that excess fat can represent a reserve of protective energy or the sequestration of toxins in the fat to provide a survival advantage ”. What the study concludes is that it is necessary an interpretation of the BMI taking into account several factors such as age, fat and muscle percentages and general medical conditions.