The link between weight and likely cause of death

As our bloggers have commented several times before, the science of obesity is contested, uncertain, and as Medical Humanities Blogger Daniel Goldberg said, 'heavy with value-laden beliefs'. Confirming this uncertainty, today, Gina Kolata of the NY Times reports that an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows overweight people are much less likely to die from diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, infections, and lung disease, and that the lower risk is not counteracted by increased risks of dying from any other disease, including cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

Of course, the study cannot speak to cause and effect -- but it certainly underscores that science has a lot to learn when it comes to studying optimal weight.