Some People Actually Need To Gain Weight
For five years, they called it wiggle room. Now they're calling it a mistake.
Recently, the federal government reversed its position that it was OK for Americans to gain weight a little as they got older. Instead of giving the over-35 crowd its own weight chart with higher weight ranges than the under-35 set the government came out with just one table to cover everyone. And, wouldn't you know it; the new table is identical to the one that applies to people under 35.You shouldn't think that just because the old college letter sweater doesn't fit anymore, that it doesn't matter. As it does matter.
Wasn't the USDA the same government agency that told us in its 1990 Dietary Guidelines that we could gain a few extra pounds as we got older without risking our health? Didn't millions of aging baby boomers breathe a sigh of relief as they drove their Jeep Cherokees to the department store to stock up on Dockers relaxed fit slacks? The fact is that the guidelines are based on science. And in the 1990 guidelines, the higher weights were due to recent research that suggested that people could gain a little weight as they age. We gave a little warning at the time that, hey folks, this might change indeed.
All kidding aside, the new weight tables, part of the 2006 Dietary Guidelines released Jan. 2 by the USDA, reflect some serious scientific research about aging and weight gain.
Probably the most significant was a 14-year study that followed 115,818 female nurses ages 30 to 55. The study concluded that gaining even 10 to 15 pounds above your ideal weight increased your risk of coronary heart disease as much as 25 percent. Gaining an extra 18 to 25 pounds increased the risk to 60 percent. The USDA's over-35 weight table said people could gain about 10 to 18 pounds over their ideal weight without worry. After the study came out last spring, Walter Willett, the Harvard physician who headed it, blasted the USDA's weight chart for people over 35. The chart, he said, suggested that gaining weight was a good thing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Gaining extra weight early in adulthood and keeping it on puts one at higher risk. Among those cheering the USDA's decision to scrap the chart was the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the same group that blasted movie theater popcorn and Mexican, Chinese and Italian restaurant food for being too fattening. Gaining weight, while it may be a natural phenomenon in the United States, isn't a healthy one. What we're now doing is being a little more honest with people. We think of unhealthy eating in a very benign way. It's not scary to most people. Staring at a Big Mac is not like staring down the barrel of a gun, but it's even more dangerous. Pretty strong words. But the new lite weight tables aren't cause for panic. I think what the government is trying to do now is retell the story on what's really important to people in their health. They're stressing exercise and sound nutritional practices. You don't have to be a health fanatic . . . but you do have to maintain an appropriate level of body fat and show some self-responsibility in taking care of yourself.
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