Healthy Obesity?

By Dr Ira Bernstein

Last winter at one of my presentations, I discussed the obesity epidemic and the serious health risks associated with obesity. It is certainly not surprising at all that the latest study of obesity published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine by Canadian researchers (co-author Dr. Bernard Zinman, who I know locally) conclude that there is no such thing as health obesity. Data on 60000 individuals were reviewed and after 10 or more years of follow-up, obese people had a 24 percent additional risk for a cardiovascular event or premature death compared to those with normal weight. To say that obesity is a ticking time bomb is an understatement.

After over 21 years of clinical practice, I have yet to encounter an obese patient who does not suffer from chronic medical problems (unless they are extremely young). However, even type 2 diabetes is now seen in youth due to obesity. A generation ago this was never seen. I do not have a single obese elderly patient who is aging gracefully, free of degenerative diseases. Of my patients who are over the age of 90, almost none are obese, because the obese patients have succumbed to their secondary diseases. This is the sad reality. It is not fear mongering. Don't count on any magic pill being able to fix this. The answer is in the mindset of the individual taking concrete action and not chasing the latest fad diet which invariably results in failure.

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Read the article published on The Globe and Mail.

There's no such thing as healthy obesity, new findings show