Peter wrote:
One reason why diabetes is such a public health challenge today is not because (the mostly hugely overweight) people die of it early, but because they don’t.
Very true Peter.
Diabetes in particular benefits massively from regular exercise. While overeating (and genetics) are the main reason why people get Diabetes mellitus, exercise is probably the best (non-pharmaceutical) therapy of it. Life expectancy with Diabetes can be normal if it is kept well under control. The public health challenge are indeed those people who don’t, by not adapting their habits and not sticking to their prescribed medication. Since Diabetes is a “slow killer” they will use the health system quite a lot before their death.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
…. apart that it’s been long proven that longlivety is highest at around 27.
Longevity alone isn’t a good measure.
Compare my grandparents: on my Dad’s side, my grandfather lived to his mid 80s, but spent 10 years dying after a series of strokes that we suspect was brought on by undiagnosed high blood pressure. On my mother’s side, my grandfather lived three years less total, but spent less than a week in the hospice at the end (and two weeks before he died, he was still doing physical tasks at home like mowing the grass).
BMI of 27 might statistically get you a bit longer, but it also might statistically mean those extra years aren’t really very much fun at all.
There’s other reasons why people with a BMI of 27 have a statistically longer life than those of a BMI of, say, 22. People with lower BMI might tend to engage in a lot more risky activities, for example, because their higher level of fitness and general health encourages them to take part in dangerous sports. A plot of life expectancy vs BMI doesn’t tell us as much as we may think.
BMI is a crazy choice of body measurement, as it doesn’t differentiate between (fat and fluid) and (muscle and bone).
alioth wrote:
People with lower BMI might tend to engage in a lot more risky activities, for example, because their higher level of fitness and general health encourages them to take part in dangerous sports.
I doubt that enough BMI 22 people do that to measurably affect statistics. Also, what about all the BMI 27 people who a PPLs?
Maoraigh wrote:
BMI is a crazy choice of body measurement, as it doesn’t differentiate between (fat and fluid) and (muscle and bone).
I think I read somewhere about a bodybuilding type person who was denied a medical certificate because of high BMI…
Maoraigh wrote:
BMI is a crazy choice of body measurement, as it doesn’t differentiate between (fat and fluid) and (muscle and bone).
While this is true, it’s only a very small percentage of the population (people with much higher than average muscle) that BMI isn’t a reasonable “rough indicator”. Certainly if you look at the people around the airfields near me, none of the people can use the excuse that BMI is a bad measure for them…
There was a big programme on the TV here the other day about the “crisis” in the National Health Service, and as usual on TV they did everything imaginable in terms of nausiating political correctness to play down the obesity epidemic which – directly and indirectly – is taking up a huge % of NHS resources.
A “sugar tax” is a worthy consideration.
I have been a great fan of juicing diets and have lost weight. During my last medical check this summer, the AME suggested intermittent fasting as a possible way to lose some more weight, so I read a book that I found on Amazon.com called “The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal your body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting,” written by Jason Fung, MD and Jimmy Moore.
After that, I went on to read the book “Keto Clarity: Your Definitive Guide to the Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet,” written by Jimmy Moore with Eric C. Westman, MD.
Since then, I have switched from juicing to a Keto diet in combination with intermittent fasting with great results.
I am not there yet but am so far very happy with the Keto-Intermittent Fast strategy I am following right now.
