Plus Size Health Roundup 5/14/12

The graph shows the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat (%BF) for men in NCHS' NHANES III 1994 data. The body fat percent shown uses the method from Romero-Corral et al. to convert NHANES BIA to %BF (June 2008). "Accuracy of body mass index in diagnosing obesity in the adult general population". International Journal of Obesity 32 (6) : 959–956. DOI:10.1038/ijo.2008.11. PMID 18283284. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a collection of health news and related links for plus-size women. Please bear in mind that many, even most of such studies are the following

1)Funded by corporations that make a great deal of money from the diet industry. 2)Inconclusive. 3)Find correlation, yes, but not causation. A triangle may be prone to cancer, but a square also being a geometric shape does NOT mean it is also prone to cancer. 4)Exaggerated and panic-inducing. The “obesity epidemic” exists in part because people never previously considered “obese” have been re-classified under an arbitrary definition of “fat.”

For more insight and understanding into this, please read Junkfood Science from the beginning.

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• There might be a link between rheumatoid arthritis and obesity. But the press on the study itself admits there are flaws in the data as of yet. Not all obese people experience joint pain. I know I don’t.

“”The study was pretty well done,” said Dr. Olivia Ghaw, a rheumatologist at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. But “the population was limited to one county, so I’m not sure the results can be extrapolated to the entire country.”"

• Obesity rates are set to soar – to 42% of the population. This directly contradicts research  that it has been leveling off since 2009. Find out who paid for that research, because such wild contradictions and panic-inducing headlines are highly, highly suspect.
• A Danish study found that people with a higher BMI do have a 26% increased chance of heart disease. The study, however, was STILL not enough for an actual correlation, despite the linked-to article headline saying exactly that it did.

 “”Observational studies have also suggested a relationship between heart disease and obesity, but that is not enough to prove a direct correlation. Obese people can share characteristics or lifestyle traits that have an influence on both the heart and weight. Or there can be a reverse causality, that is, it is the diseased heart that causes obesity and not the other way round,” said Nordestgaard, who is also a clinical professor in the health and medical sciences faculty at the university.”

• Obese people are less likely to use their seat belts. Many may not know of the availability of seatbelt extenders.
• Liposuction might actually cause women to develop more fat.
• Physical activity could lengthen the lives of people with breast and colon cancer. It could also fight heart failure.
• Children that watch too much television have poorer diets.
• A study in its very early stages is looking into why people continue to eat after they are full.