In adults over 70 years of age a higher BMI might have a protective effect. The mortality was lower by 13% than in the ‘normal’ weight BMI category, or the ‘obese’ category. The study that’s started in 1996 looked at almost 10 000 patients aged 70 to 75 years of age. The results of the study suggests that maybe a different BMI range should be considered as the desired weight range for adults over 70 years of age, and that maybe what is considered overweight might be the desired range.

A study expected to appear in the January issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has come to the conclusion that blacks carry less fat around the organs (the particular unhealthy fat) than whites. The visceral fat that can be seen as abdominal fat increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity related illnesses. The study showed that using BMI as a measurement tool might not be an accurate way of reflecting obesity related disease risk for all racial groups, as shown previously with Asians where a BMI over 23 indicates a raised risk for diabetes. Blacks still have a raised risk for obesity related diseases, which might be due to the increased prevalence of obesity among blacks. According to the study 45% black adults and 31% white adults where obese.

Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University 2006 curriculum has come under fire as it is time for the students of 2006 to graduate. The fitness class policy states that students with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher must either lower their BMI below 30 or take a one-unit course called “Fitness for Life”, or they can’t graduate. Students fir back saying “It’s not up to Lincoln to tell me how much my BMI should be” while James L. DeBoy, chair of Lincoln’s department of health, physical education, and recreation, defends the rule saying : We, as educators, must tell students when we believe, in our heart of hearts, when certain factors, certain behaviors, attitudes, whatever, are going to hinder that student from achieving and maximizing their life goals,” as quoted in CNN news earlier today.
This might remind us of the not to old law in Japan, that makes it is illegal to be fat, with fines for people that have a waist circumference over the normal.