Risks Of A Few Extra Pounds

Do you weigh a few pounds more than you should? Turns out even a small extra amount might be too risky.

Most of us seem to lug around an extra pound or two that we want to get rid of. Now it looks like that small amount of extra weight might be worse for your health than we thought.

Doctors have known for quite some time that obesity carries its own health risks, especially when it comes to heart disease, strokes and certain cancers. We weren't sure about being just overweight and not necessarily obese.

But a new study, huge by study standards, looked at the health of around 1 and 1/2 million people and found that being even a little overweight also meant a bigger chance of dying. The women in this study with a Body Mass Index, BMI, between 22 and 25 had the lowest death rate. Compare that to women in the overweight category with a BMI of 25 or more---they were 13 percent more likely to die.

The thinking used to be that having a little extra padding, a few extra pounds here and there, provided a type of reserve the body could use if you got sick. Now researchers involved in this study are saying that's simply not true---and that extra reserve, especially since it happens to be mostly fat is bad for your overall health.