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Chubby People Live Longest
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IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I know this is way late and no one will read it, but I just needed to break out into song. So here goes:

FAT!

I'm gonna live forever! I'm gonna learn how to fly!

/to the tune of Fame of course. Irene Cara version, not icky new version.
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thesciencegirl
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
If anyone's still reading this, here's the data from the actual study (if you have access to Nature and want the link, pm me). I hope it's ok to post these figures -- if not, my apologies.

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Ailanthus-altissima
06/19/09

@thesciencegirl: You are great. Thanks for bringing the actual data to the table.
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Brigit
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
Well, hello lack of context!
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Brigit
06/19/09

@Brigit: damn, where did my image go? 2nd try.

[www.phdcomics.com]
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MissMoneypenny
06/19/09

@Brigit: I'm totally hearting you for that because I almost posted the exact same comic.
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Brigit
06/19/09

@MissMoneypenny: I just wish that the reporters/writers would at least link or give the reference of the original research. Even an abstract is more enlightening at times.

Most of the time science reporting ends up turning into recycled/regurgitated catchphrases, and results in everyone just blabbering about their preconceptions, instead of learning something new about themselves and others.

/pet science-writing peeve.
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takeitasred
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I was just listening to the beginning of Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers" on audibook this afternoon and I have to share his (post-relevant) introduction. It begins with the story of Roseto, a town populated entirely by Italian immigrants since 1900 or thereabouts, in the foothills of Pennsylvaina, in which the inhabitants of the 1950s had an extrordinarily low rate of heart disease, and the vast majority of the inhabitants lived long lives and simply died of old age. Scientists attempted to figure out why, and hypothesized that they may have maintained the healthy eating habits of their ancestors in Italy, but no - they cooked with lard instead of olive oil, made hearty, bready American style pizza instead of Italian, and enjoyed sweets far more regularly than their ancestors. 40% of their calories came from fat. Many of them were obese. Yet their rate of heart disease was far, far lower than the average. Eventually (by ruling out a lot of other causes) the doctors concluded that the town itself, with its strong social cohesiveness, multi-generational families and active societies, was producing this extrordinary health benefit. So being overweight and eating so-called unhealthy fats do not necessarily make you die sooner, if other conditions are extant. Fascinating, isn't it?
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Lymed
06/19/09

@takeitasred: That is only an hypothesis. It is fascinating, but it not proven.
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takeitasred
06/19/09

@Lymed: fair enough, but given that a common health assumption is that "overweight" = "higher risk of heart disease" and other troubling conditions, it's interesting that in this case, that assumption was proven to not apply. Perhaps meriting its inclusion in a study of "outliers."
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Lymed
06/19/09

@takeitasred: Overweight generally increases the risk of heart disease. That doesn't mean it will always increase that risk. I think that example is definitely interesting, but the real reason for their health status could be missed. Perhaps it is genetic? Perhaps it is related to parents' health?
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shorty63136
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
Chubby people live longer? I'm well on my way, then. See you bitches in 2060!
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Lymed
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
Didn't Jezebel cover a study with the same finding last summer? Or am I hallucinating out of hunger again?
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
FOOD = DEATH.

NO FOOD = DEATH.

EXCESSIVE WATER CONSUMPTION = DEATH.

INSUFFICIENT WATER CONSUMPTION = DEATH.

SMOKING = DEATH.

DRINKING = DEATH.

DRIVING = DEATH.

BICYCLING = DEATH.

RABID RACCOONS = DEATH.

TOO MUCH SUN = DEATH.

INSUFFICIENT SLEEP = DEATH.

DRUGS = DEATH.

ILLNESS = DEATH.

LIFE = DEATH.

This study brought to you by the American Society of Realists, founded in 1982 by A. Foibles, MD.
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notheretomakefriends
06/19/09

@..now it's just Aesop's Foibles.: Rabid Racoons, mauled by a bear, alligator encounters... all fun ways to die. hearted, and not just because we have the same birthyear (holla!!!)
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Remedios Varo can't see no huevos.
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I'm chubby and a vegetarian, so I'm going to outlast all of you! (Just kidding.)
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Skellatrix
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I appreciate the "under" toilet paper in this painting, however, I am annoyed at the toilet lid being up.
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squeakel
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I've read several studies that found the exact opposite results. Calorie restriction increases your longevity.

I'm just going to go with the one that sounds more fun. Chubby it is.
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inabook
06/19/09

@squeakel: That level of severe calorie restriction is unrealistic for most people though, and it impacts quality of life-- especially for women, since it makes them unable to reproduce while following the diet. Its also been suggested that, while it does prolong life, you can get the same level of life prolonging by drinking a glass of red wine a day. Mmmm, reservatol!
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Lymed
06/19/09

@squeakel: Another study that found heavier people (though not obese) live longer found that people who are extremely thin are more likely to die if they get an infection or other illness because the body doesn't have the strength. It may be possible that calorie restriction helps prevent certain conditions, but then if you get hit with pneumonia, you need the weight to fight it.
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kontrolle
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
No wonder this guy looks so freakin' happy.

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kontrolle
06/19/09

@kontrolle: @kontrolle:
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Lymed
06/19/09

@kontrolle: He dies young, didn't you see Ghostbusters?
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Eric Northman is mine
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I predict today's worstie will come from this thread.
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notheretomakefriends
06/19/09

@Eric Northman is mine: I was expecting that, and actually the comments have been quite entertaining so far. go figure
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NewsBunny
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I'm 35. I have no desire to live past, say, 70. I don't want to spend the last years of my life hobbling around with a cane, having to hire someone to help me bathe, and taking my teeth out at night.

My point is, why do we care about living so long? Why not just get hit by a truck and get this shit over with?

Chubby, Skinny, whatever. I'm jumping off the Queensboro the day after I turn 70.
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Samanthrax
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: Amen to that. The day someone else has to wipe my ass is the day I call it quits. Though who knows, old people are weird- maybe I'll enjoy having someone else wipe my ass.
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Majrhoulihan
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: Aw, my grandmother is 72 and she's the shit!

She does aerobics, drinks sangria with her church lady friends, babysits the grandkids, goes on vacations, makes scary jell-o molds.
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Diziet_Sma
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: Betcha don't. 70's not old. Ask Clint Eastwood (79).
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Ramseylicious
06/19/09

@Samanthrax is Sarcastic:
Oh, I'm with you on the wiping my own ass thing. But I plan to have a bidet because that's how I roll. I am, however, putting a "wipe my own ass" clause in my living will (it's called something else in MA, but I can't remember). The story about the woman in Italy whose parents wanted to let her die peacefully but the church/government wouldn't let them...scared the shit out of me.
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NewsBunny
06/19/09

@Diziet_Sma: Betcha I will. Five bucks?
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Diziet_Sma
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: Yeah! I'll take it will compound interest, thanks. So you'll probably owe me around $10,000 or something. Ha.
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Diziet_Sma
06/19/09

@Diziet_Sma: WITH compound interest
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inabook
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: When my parents are 70, I'll be 30. I'll most likely get married when they're 67. I then probably won't start reproducing until they're 70. So, for some people, the idea of seeing their grandkids is a pretty decent inducement.
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Lymed
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: I understand completely, at 70 you are basically confined to your bed, it's not like you could consider doing anything with your life like, say, running for President and serving in the U.S. Senate.
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NewsBunny
06/19/09

@Lymed: You're all being so sarcastic. This is just what I think. I'd rather abandon life when I've got the strength and metal capabilities to do so. That's all.
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Lymed
06/19/09

@NewsBunny: But why age 70? Why not just when your health or mental capabilities start to decline? That can happen at age 70, at age 90, or at age 25. There are many days I'm hobbling around, my husband has had to help me in and out of the bathtub, and I'm not even halfway to 70.
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thesciencegirl
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
According to this article overweight people live longer than underweight people live longer than obese people. They don't really mention where people in the "normal" BMI range fall in that lineup, and it's unclear to me whether the original study actually tested that.
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save jinger
06/19/09

In reply to Chubby People Live Longest
I for one am planning to lose weight so I can die earlier so I don't have to read another word about fucking BMI's!
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tscheese
06/19/09

@save jinger: You're not considering the people who LIKE reading another word about fucking BMIs. And dying, like, later. You're like, sooooo insensitive! To my plight! That I just made up!
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save jinger
06/19/09

@tscheese: Let's do a study testing whether people who don't give a fuck about BMIs live longer or shorter than people who do. That'll show 'em! (Or not, depending on the results of the study.)
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