The CDC is So Busted: Fat Stats Overblown 14x

Now, the caveat from the article: "The new analysis found that obesity ó being extremely overweight ó is indisputably lethal." Like, you know, living. Breathing. All of that.

Wow. What do you want to bet this correction doesn't make the evening news? And that the 365,000 figure continues to be accepted as "fact?"

I'm really, really blown away by this. And you know I've been doing BFB for five years, and this might be the biggest thing I've heard of. This isn't just a little aberration. Even their first "correction" was, you know, in the same ballpark. But dumping it down to 7th is enormous. They're going to take that 365,000 number and keep using it, but the truth has got to spread. It's great that this is an AP story.

That came out 40 minutes ago, and I was about to send it in and Andi beat me to it! Sorry. I just had to whine! This is pretty incredible. I especially loved the part where it said "normal may have been set too low for today's population". Overall, good news. But yeah, it'll be buried faster than a squirrel's peanut.

Yes, and it's interesting that the AP story also mentions what Campos has asserted, that those now considered "moderately overweight" actually have lower mortality than those considered "normal weight."

I really really beleive that alot of the good news is that people are, in general, attempting to be more fit, regardless of diet. But what do I know?

The truth shall set you free. Sing hallelujah!

When are we going to run a campaign against stupidity? Why aren't the morons discriminated against? It's not a good thing to discriminate, but come on, there's a bigger problem with extremely dumb people than extremely fat people. I bet you anything idiocy has something to do with death and is involved in a lot more problems than is ever noticed, but we don't want the dumb people to feel bad about themselves, they obviously can't change the fact that they're idiots.

The version of the article that I saw (yep, I was coming to report it, too, it's on my Y! front page) does indicate that diabetes is on the rise across people in "all weight groups." Good freaking grief, though; it's like Quint says in "Jaws": "this just goes to show that you [doctors] aren't smart enough to admit when you're wrong." We're going to keep using the same statistics because it's still a threat my fat ass.

What does this information have to do with me? I am still considered "dangerously overweight." Many of the people who come here are considered "dangerously overweight" also. Why should I be excited about something I already knew? Even if we got the whole country to embrace that concept, that is still not going to help people like me, or most of the people in fat acceptance, because, as always, my size is not applicable to that finding. Pardon me for not finding this news exciting. I will be excited when studies show that people my size can indeed be as healthy as other people.

fancycat: First, watch your generalizations - there are people of all sizes who participate here, of all health levels. I will be excited when studies show that people my size can indeed be as healthy as other people. This is a big first step, in my opinion. The appendage to this article stating that people who are "overweight" are healthy is a big bonus and I'll be anxious to see the findings of that study.

It's about time they admit that they were wrong. But the fact that they want to continue their bigotry anyway makes me want to scream. It just goes to show that there is a lot more work to be done to end prejudice.

P.S. And yeah, I'm sure it's not going to make the news, what with the election of a new pope and the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing -- if it is in the news at all, it will probably be a ten-second blurb.

I'm just slightly overweight (by stupid BMI) at this point and have a health level somewhere around "time to embalm that sucker, its starting to smell!" I was a lot healthier when I was a LOT bigger.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

samus.....I am right there with you. When I was carrying around the 30 or so extra pounds that my family and doctor (I was told I had serious health risks) constantly harassed me about I was extremely healthy. I only missed two days of school from K-12. However now that I have lost the weight and look "great" ( or so everyone says), I have developed low blood sugar, heart palpitations and the occasional seizures. My BMI is like an 18.

They must fell really stupid having to admit TWICE that they messed up :) By the way did anyone notice this quote "Also, Americans classified as overweight are eating better, exercising more and managing their blood pressure better than they used to" Can't they make the connection that health is far more likely to be related to these things than weight?? Guess not...

being "obese" is still on the list of causes for "preventable" death. erg. i'm also interested in how they pulled the new data out of their elbow... but, yeah, nothing like seeing the cdc make an ass out of itself...

Yes this did make the mainstream media. I saw it on CNN. Unfortunately, it won't drown out the rest of the noise from the fashion and diet industries. There's still too much money to be made from making people, mostly women, hate themselves.

To paraphrase Eric Idle: "Fuck you very much, the CDC..." This is great news. Even though I am pretty unhealthy these days, it's good to know that reports of my impending demise have been greatly exaggerated. At this rate, it's going to be my allergies that kill me, not my fat. ;)

I keep thinking of Gilda Radner today and waiting for the government agencies, special interests, media and everyone else who's been hyping the deadly "obesity" crisis to say .... "never mind." LOL.

Government agencies spreading self-serving propaganda is infinitely more dangerous than obesity...in fact, if it's purpose is to frighten people it borders on terrorism.

"Overweight" people are healthier than normal people... if you really want to worry about health you should worry about automobile safety, maybe even stop selling so many automobiles so people won't be encouraged to pursue unhealthy lifestyles... I think lobbying is going to be more fun now.

This is also in the NYTimes today, which is a very well read paper, so perhaps it won't be entirely buried. But yeah, I would love to see more being made of it even in the TV news media, but I don't watch it anymore, so I don't know if it will get the attention it deserves. My fantasy is that the TV news media makes a very big deal out of this and then runs WW or Jenny Craig commercials after it to make them look like the trash they are. I know most of the people I deal with only get their news from TV. I sent copies of these articles all over the place,but I truly wonder, how will they justify their hatred of fat people now, since they can no longer point to it being a health hazard? The prejudice will still be there, no doubt. Or maybe this is the first step we need towards making it "politically incorrect" to treat fat people differently. I don't know about anyone else, but I would love a public apology from just about everyone who has ever treated me like ms Invisible Woman. lol Or the innumerable people who had ongoing debates with me about the EVIL of fat....some of those thin ones are on cholesterol or BP lowering drugs today, and I'm not. GEE wonder why? (makes the kid in me wanna do one of those Na na na na na things while wiggling my fingers in front of my nose...) Good News anyway!

Maybe this is the start of (the inevitable) blacklash? In my experience, anything that is heralded as "absolutely true and horrifically important" is usually found out to be a fraud, and then turned against. They've been yanking that pendulum so hard in one direction for the past couple of decades, it was bound to swing back at least a little. I don't see this bringing in a wave of fat freedom, but I do think it's a healthy step in the right direction. If people fight themselves and their bodies a little less after reading this, they will be healthier in the long run, and that is good news. I will be watching the news for this topic closely in the coming months, I'm curious to see where it goes.

I'm delighted and bemused that the statistics were *that* far off. I want to give the CDC quarter-credit for admitting that they'd blown it--it's that low because of the desire to not publicize the news or charge their policies, but I feel they should get something for not covering up the news completely.

Agreed, Nancy. Even if the CDC is going to ignore its new findings at least they admitted they found the error - that's worth something. Michelle, I too hope that this is the start of something bigger. While I'm not crazy about their not letting "obese" and "REALLY REALLY OBESE!!!" people off the hook (it's a bit exclusionary,) this bodes pretty well. I think and hope it's going to become increasingly difficult for the CDC to take their phony stats to people once they hear of this. The whole thing's been a comedy of errors. The first number, 400,000, was used as an anti-fat tool even though it had nothing to do with fat. Then the 365,000 number was stated because someone couldn't figure out copy-and-paste in Excel (which, really, is sad.) And now this number, which is simply dwarfed by everything else. The bottom line is that the CDC is going to look like a group of incompetent fearmongers, and while not taking true delight in it, I think it's important for people - especially outside of the movement - to realize how many lies they've been fed.

I'm glad to see the CDC made to look bad. I used to work in the Finance Department of their ad agency, and I was embarrassed to admit that that group of incompetents was one of our clients.

I read several dozen papers from across the country this morning and it's remarkable how much they are ignoring this study in lockstep. Only a few even bothered to publish anything (the same articles written yesterday). By comparison, when that 400,000 figure came out it was EVERYWHERE! The media that mention it, downplay it by saying (as Katie Couric did this am) that maybe being a tiny bit overweight wasn't as bad as once thought. Good grief. The other tactics I've seen to downplay it is to try and discredit the authors (who are among the most esteemed in the field and have proven to be heroic in coming out against the higher ups at the CDC), or to try and say that improved medical care over recent years is why being overweight isn't as risky (rather than the risks were grossly overblown in the first place). I nearly died laughing when the local newscasters scoffed at this study because it didn't make sense to them that eating might be good for you! Let's get the word out about this study with a more truthful spin! Looking at everyone of "normal" weight or thin -- which is what the government wants us all to be (42.9% of population in the year 2000) compared to everyone fat (57.1% of population in 2000), there were 7,931 fewer deaths among the fat people. In other words, being fat saves lives. Those who are underweight (media ideal figures) are about two times more likely to die prematurely than everyone else, and being thin is especially dangerous in those over age 60. (controlled for smoking and illnesses.) Excess deaths associated with thinness = 33,746 Excessive deaths associated with being overweight or obese = 25,815 Lower deaths (lives saved) associated with being overweight = 86,094

The thing that gets me about this is why does the CDC emphasize the stats in the first place? I'm referring to the discussion about how the CDC will not use the revised number in its public awareness campaigns. Research shows that nothing is more compelling to people than a good story. So I hear a stat such as "N people are going to die this year because of X reason" and I think, so what? Why not tell stories? Stories about obese people who are healthy, unhealthy, whatever. Suggestions for how to be happy and healthy no matter what your weight. And the funny thing is, I'm a stats person!

Maybe because happy, positive stories that say there's no problem don't get the attention that fear-based, horror tales and death threats get? But I agree, stats are junk. I value studies and stories on actual people. I think we have so much nonstop bad news and manufactured stress that good news itself would be healthful!

For me, the refusal of the CDC not to change their emphasis on the old data is a little bit like saying "Well, Christopher Columbus discovered that the Earth was round, but the people still believe it's flat so we'll tell them it's not really flat but rather slightly less flat than once thought (since we don't want to upset the people by telling them that the 'Flat Earth' message that was being preached to them all of their lives was wrong all that time.) So, although you and I both know the world is in fact, round, it's just easier if we say it's flat or slightly less flat than before, but we are certainly not going to force them to believe this Round Earth business, in fact, we are ignoring that fact altogether. we have to keep people from roaming around freely you know...We think that the Flat Earth theory will still work to strike fear in the hearts of sailors everywhere, at least until they start to notice that they are not falling off the edges of the world. Even if they notice, we'll come up with something else to deter them from sailing freely!" I guess the CDC is just waiting for someone with half a brain to notice that fat people aren't dropping dead left and right from the obesity scourge. Until that happens though, we'll be the outsiders saying that the Earth was round the entire time, trying to cut through the crap and lies that have been forced on us.

Also, for the record, i have no idea what it is that I just said.

The bigger problem, at least as I see it, is the CDC can no longer be counted on to be accurate about much of anything, obesity related or not. I'm sure they do good work, but when you bollocks things up in such a spectacular fashion, your credibility is shot on all fronts.

CDC should not have touched obesity with a ten foot pole. Their job -which they are excellent at- is real epidemics, the kind that spread and that need controlling or investigating. They should have left fat to someone else. Because you can't treat "fat" like Legionnaire's disease, AIDS or Hantavirus.

*choking at Andi1's metaphor* (that is a metaphor, yes? Brilliant! This is the best thing I've seen in the news since.. since...

Agree, nwhiker; the CDC, in its areas of expertise, is a very capable and valuable organization. I'd imagine there are many people there who are not pleased about having been dragged into the anti-fat brigade. About reporting, I was stuck in a doctor's office and saw on the office TV the popular yet loathesome "Good Morning L.A." report this accurately enough. This being an especially crude and stupid show, the report featured many, many clips of unidentified fat women (no men) seen from behind, just walking down the street minding their own business. The reporter kept a smirk of disbelief on his face and the anchorpeople objected that it couldn't possibly be true, but the information seemed correct, and they devoted several minutes to it.

shall we write the cdc letters and ask them why they refuse to revise the facts as they are found out? I have very high blood pressure, have since childhood, I am sure they would like to say it is because of my obesity, not that they want to hear I was thin as a kid taking bp meds. well I was at my doctors mon and she adjusted my meds upward because my bp went down only a little bit, and I said I had bp problems since a child, and I said maybe if I take my meds at the present dosage and lose about 60 pounds then maybe the bp will go down. she said that wouldn't make a difference. and she is a thin older lady and she has been a doctor for alot of years, so maybe she has been there and done that with regard to weight and has as many thin bp patients as fat ones. she knows I exercise, and I have done the low salt thing and tried other bp meds but there was very little bp reduction these beta blockers are helping my bp somewhat but they help other problems I was having more like stopping my jaw pain and quieting my inner motor. anyway until the cdc and the rest of america has something else to harp on this obesity thing is here to stay until they have milked it dry (money or influence wise) then they will move on to something else and everyone will forget this whole affair. RR

Someone needs to be sacked for this.

I too came over yesterday to report it and was said to see I was beaten to it as well. :) This is great. I mean just great. The funny thing is, people STILL don't get it. I don't know why I tried (I guess I love the contriversy too much), but I posted this on a weight loss board I used to belong to (before seeing the light and coming over here :)), that I still go back on occasion because I like some of the people and some people need some shaking sometimes. :) Well, most people were good with it, finding the facts interesting on one side or another, but this one person who replied I think shows the problems that are still going to be here regardless. Some select quotes (and this is working to lose 50-100 pounds, keep in mind): "I for one really don't care how many death occur from it...it's STILL a HUGE problem in the USA and we need to deal with it." "All articles like this do is give fat people who need to lose weight another excuse to stay fat." "Obesity isn't something to take lightly and people who are obese need to lose weight...MYSELF INCLUDED OBVIOUSLY...because even if you don't DIE from it, your quality of life is sharply diminished in about a thousand ways." "So I'm not as likely to die...maybe I would rather die then have any of a hundred illnesses that obesity can bring on." I replied commenting on how do you know it's such a debilitating problem, and how the same people who tell you that it is a problem are the same ones who said you were going to die early, to try to get the point across. I also threw in some of those health benefits for being obese, complete with documentation, and the story about the guy with the 55 pound tumor who was told he was fat to have a good mix. The reply? "I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous some of the things you've said are... Just...WOW... And I really don't have time, but if this board is going to become some PROUD TO BE FAT farm then I'll leave." -sigh- I think this is the problem - people might think that we don't die as early, but I doubt they'll ever look past the stigmas to even doubt the other info they have been given. I think that's why I still hang out on that board - there are just too many people on it who hate themselves so much... Anyway. I'm still exstatic about the news. Next time someone tells me I'm going to _____ because of my weight, instead of rattling off my bp, cholesterol, etc. number that are lower than theirs, I have some kind of documented proof that some of the things they have heard are off. Midknyt

NPR just reported on it (5:47 EST), and they also mentioned a second study (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608628) that says that death rate is nearly the same for UNDERWEIGHT people as it is for overweight people. Man. This makes me mad.

Actually according to Flegal's study, the risks of being underweight as compared to "overweight" is 166% higher for people 25-59 years of age and 242% higher for people 60-69 years of age. Among people 60 years and up, being underweight is especially dangerous, even moreso than being the most "obese."

It's the top most emailed story on the new york times website ... dunno if that actually *means* anything, but...

I didn't get very favorable reaction to this either. Anyone I spoke to or email this to came back with negativity about studies in general and how they mean nothing. OH I see, but when the studies are anti-fat, then I guess they mean something. Unfreakingbelievable!

btw, I don't watch TV media, does anyone know if there was TV coverage of this study? That seems to be where most of mainstream Americans get their news from, and where it would do the most good for the cause. (oy, what am i thinking?)

lildee, Yes, this was covered by most of the network evening news and morning shows. I saw the NBC Nightly news coverage, and the Today Show coverage. It wasn't in depth, but it did hit most of the key points.

There was almost no coverage of this story in Canada. CBC Radio (Canada's national public radio) just ran a clip about how this generation is likely to have a shorter lifespan (blah, blah, blah) because of obesity ... sigh.

hi, i have just joined. this is amazing stuff. i have applied for funding for a PhD which will be on the social conceptions of fat, weight loss pressure and the media etc. I was inspired by two things...well three because firstly i am a fat, fit, proud woman, secondly, i was getting depressed that everytime i entered my grocery store there were an increasing amount of magazines obsessed with celebrity bodies: celebrity bodies perfect/flawed, too fat, too thin, get this celeb body by this celeb diet etc etc...and reading an extract of The Obesity Myth. i knew i had to contribute to this! it needs to be done! so i hope i get the funding! anyway, this whole issue with the cdc and the jama article is gold. I am from the Uk and at the moment there is an absolute media obsession with 'obesity' (currently childhood obesity) and a plethora of programmes on weight loss, health that only focuses on fat people, celebrity fat farms etc etc...there was even a programme recently called 'what if...obesity was contagious'. i knew i should have watched it as research but the very idea made me steam! anyway, i have to agree with what has been said in some of the posts - some people just DON'T want to hear it. i work in a library and we got the campos book in. i work with 99% women and i am the ONLY one who is not on a diet or counting calories. and i am the only one who would be considered fat. those women can't put something in there mouth without a guilty comment. and i am the only one who regularly exercises. i am sure they don't believe that. anyway, when i mentioned things i had read in campos they just stared at me. they won't believe it because it totally goes against what we have been told all our lives. and it goes against a lot of internalised fears about being 'unattractive'. but i also agree that this is a step in our favour - of sorts. doesn't help that they are sticking to the lie! but what's new! we know from campos etc that the data findings in these things is almost always skewed to prove what they wanted to say in the first place: fat is a disease, it kills you etc etc. i loved andi1's earth is flat metaphor too! wonderful stuff - may i use that?!?! also, that it was someone inept at exel is priceless...what a perfect metaphor for that kind of data collection! the mess up gave them what they wanted to hear! just make up a number randomly! if it is big enough we can scare and shame em! this is going to be an invaluable forum, i can tell. i am so glad to be here.