More to the point, the recalculated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers suggested that overweight people actually live longer than people in the normal weight category, with 86,000 fewer deaths among overweights than normal weights. Additionally, the CDC said underweight people died more often than the overweight or obese, and it pointed out that life expectancy in the nation is increasing even as the rates of obesity climb. In other words, the thinnest people in the United States may be at the greatest health risk.

THE DIET INDUSTRY

What Bacon has discovered runs counter to the messages that are being processed in society via every form of media, which emphasizes youth, vigor and particularly slimness (after all, the legend has it that the camera adds 20 pounds).

The number of Americans who claim they are dieting is the highest in history, with 20 percent to 24 percent of men and 33 percent to 40 percent of women actively dieting (the number of women allegedly dieting may be much higher – one telephone survey claimed just under 60% percent of women were dieting).

The $60 billion diet industry is partly responsible for this fascination. While the intentions are good, it’s also spawned a lot of unhealthy rogue behaviors, including skipping meals, smoking to kill appetites, binging, purging, and taking laxatives to induce weight loss. The message being pumped out is that everyone must lose weight to be healthy, and all large people are in poor health. They also insinuate that anyone can lose weight if he or she only tries to eat right and exercise more.

DIETS AND HEALTH

The truth, as promulgated by Bacon and an increasing number of doctors, is that diets don’t work for the long-term. Body weight is largely (pardon the pun) determined by genetics, and each person’s normal weight range is different.