The difference may not be truly statistically significant, so the bottom line is there is basically no correlation between weight and mortality risk in those categories which cover the vast majority of Americans. But don't expect your doctor to tell you this any time soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our Absurd Fear of Fat
By PAUL F. CAMPOS - JAN. 2, 2013

ACCORDING to the United States government, nearly 7 out of 10 American adults weigh too much. (In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention categorized 74 percent of men and 65 percent of women as either overweight or obese.)

But a new meta-analysis of the relationship between weight and mortality risk, involving nearly three million subjects from more than a dozen countries, illustrates just how exaggerated and unscientific that claim is.

~~~~~ CONTINUE AT: ~~~~~

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/opinion/our-imaginary-weight-problem.html?_r=1