Add a Little Weight, Gain 6-7 Years: Study

Being a touch on the heavy side could help you live an extra few years, Japanese researchers say. People who were a little overweight at 40 lived 6 to 7 years longer than those who were very thin at that age, AFP reports. The very thin had a life expectancy 5 years shorter than that of obese subjects.

“We had expected thin people would show the shortest life expectancy but didn’t expect the difference to be this large,” said a researcher, whose team divided subjects into groups by body mass index, which divides weight by squared height. The findings aren’t, however, encouragement to pack on pounds, he adds: “It’s better that thin people try to gain normal weight, but we doubt it’s good for people of normal physique to put on more fat.”
(More overweight stories.)