On this episode of The Paleo View, Stacy and Sarah continue their discussion on the latest in weight loss research, touching on the obesity paradox and the studies exploring this concept.

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 196, The Obesity Paradox

• Intro (0:00)
• News and Views (1:18)
  • Stacy’s preparation for her trip
    • What she can say in Italian
    • Unplugging while on the cruise
    • Stacy will do a food recap and share them when she can
• The Latest in Weight Loss Research Continued (7:36)
  • For Sarah weight loss maintenance is her favorite element that the Paleo lifestyle offers
  • This week Stacy and Sarah will be talking about the obesity paradox
  • Both Stacy and Sarah receive questions from listeners about hitting a weight loss plateau, and this is where getting healthy to get thin becomes a core idea
  • Research is starting to show that having that extra 20 to 30 pounds may actually make you healthier – the healthiest place to be is overweight, not obese or underweight
  • The studies that have been done on this concept
  • The obesity paradox came from the observation that people who have a BMI of 25 to 30 (classified as overweight) have the lowest rate of all cause mortality
  • Stacy points out the question – how is the ideal weight defined? and by who?
  • As studies dig into this concept, they have found that obese people have a higher risk of  many diseases, but obese people once they have a chronic illness they have a higher chance of surviving it
  • There are two sides to this
    • One, that being overweight or obese increases your survival from chronic illness, even though it increases chronic illness rates
    • And that being overweight is this magic place where there is a much lower all cause mortality
  • The sweet spot – where we have the longest life span and the lowest disease risk, on average, is slightly overweight, not underweight or obese
  • Sarah is not a fan of the BMI, and Stacy has her doubts in its validity as well
    • Stacy pointed out some examples of BMI limitations
    • Sarah explained why the BMI is still used, and notes that some medical communities are trying to use body fat percentage as a new measurement
  • There is actually a recommendation to hit the senior years a little bit heavier and the medical benefits this weight brings
    • The weight we naturally gain as we get older – does it prepare us for those older ages where it is beneficial to be heavier?
  • Another study that was done on fat storage and longevity
    • The study was done on yeast to determine how having an increase in body fat has a genetic effect prolonging life span – which might be behind the obesity paradox
  • What Sarah finds fascinating about the obesity paradox is what this body of research is starting to show
  • That 10 to 30 pounds that just won’t come off is probably a lot better for us to keep on our bodies and we should learn to embrace it
    • We don’t need more weight loss strategies or tools – we need to instead redefine what the goal is
  • Stacy’s thoughts on redefining the goal to better fulfill optimal health
  • We don’t need to have one box that defines what looks attractive – it is ok for us to look different, and for optimal health to take different shape in different body styles
• We will be back next week with some more awesomeness, and will possibly keep discussing this topic
• Thanks again for listening!
• Outro (37:55)