DEATH BY BODY MASS INDEX

C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

Death itself has never worried me. On the other hand, any illness which decreases quality of life certainly does! Obesity is one of the major destroyers of quality of life. Today one-third of Americans are overweight (BMI 25 to 29) and another one-third qualify for obese status (BMI 30 or greater). Surely by now everyone knows that a BMI 30 or above gives the same risk as smoking about 3 packs of cigarettes daily and that obesity has now replaced smoking as the number one cause of death!

For every unit of BMI >25 kg/square meter at midlife, odds for disease-free survival at age 70 decrease by 12%. British Medical Journal, Sept. 29, 2009. In this study of 17,000 women who were healthy in 1976, only 10% were still healthy at age 70! For every one kg of weight gained after age 18, odds for healthy survival were reduced by 5%!! Interestingly, 20 kg (about 44 pounds) reduces chances of survival to 70 by 100%. Now we know that a few people that overweight survive past 70, so statistics are not perfect.

BMI 25 or above is associated with heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer and even sleep apnea. If the incidence of excess weight was reduced to zero, the most common illnesses would be reduced by about 60%. Talk about health care reform!!Obesity is not a desirable luxury. The illnesses associated with obesity are serious threats to quality of life. Here are some suggestions for escaping the risks of excess weight:

• AVOID sugar, artificial sweeteners, MSG, fast food restaurants, any food packaged with more than one ingredient
• EXERCISE–build to one hour daily
• Avoid most TV
• BE HAPPY–If needed use a Liss stimulator and a RelaxMate. Do the 90 DAYS TO STRESS-FREE LIVING book
• Do an Iodine Saturation Test. Look it up on the internet
• Consider homeopathic Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin.
  I would not personally recommend the allopathic dose!

BOUNCE!