Healthy Weight

[Alyssa719]

I have heard that people who are a little overweight have a longer life expectancy than people at an average or "healthy" weight. Is this true? What is considered a healthy weight range for a 5'4" woman?

[Barb135]

Funny - strange, that is -- I just read an article yesterday that said people who are even a little bit overweight are 13% more likely to have health issues than those who maintain their weight in a "normal" range.

I want to look into this some more, too.  Sounds like there might be a bit of controversy with the studies.  Interesting research.......

[tigerlilly5909]

It also depends on you family history. My BIL was not over weight but his cholesterol was high. It runs in his family. He ate better and in turn lost some weight and his cholesterol went down. My mother is the same way, when she keeps her weight down all of her numbers are better. I think is depends on the person and their family history.

I think it's better for older people to have a couple (10-15) of pounds on them so if they get sick it's easier to come back from it. But... That's just my opinion.

I've heard of this but never looked into it. I'll have to check it out.

[Barb135]

I've heard that it's not terribly bad to be a bit overweight; however, that depends on how much overweight the person is.  The heavier a person is, the greater the chance of other health issues, such as high blood pressure, type II diabetes, and other issues.  

Weight range depends on your frame size - here's some info for you:

Height                         Small frame                 Medium frame           Large frame
5'4"                                114-127                        124-138                   134-151