This study from the Archives of Internal Medicine looked disability and mortality rates over five years in 13,000 Americans who were over age of 65. The study concludes with the sentence "Disability-free life expectancy is greatest among subjects [over the age of 65] with a BMI of 25 to less than 30."
I have commented before that being "overweight" (BMI 25.0 o 29.9) is less risky, has less mortality, and less disability than conventional wisdom would have you believe. This is especially true in people ove the age of 65. The real health risks are seen in people of all ages with BMIs over 35. Here is a link to a BMI calculator.
As a society we have a real problem with real obesity--but we do not have a real problem with overweight. We would be better served and more efficient to focus our efforts on the morbidly obese who are at very high risk of very serious and life threatening and disabling diseases.
Stay well.
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