Obesity and Our Changing Image of the Ideal Body

Two-thirds of Americans are now overweight, producing concern about epidemics from various ailments. However, while obesity does increase the risk of dying from diabetes or kidney disease, it does not make cancer or heart disease more likely and extra pounds actually may protect against other causes of death. That's from reviewing decades of government of government studies, as reported recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Peter Brown is a professor of anthropology and global health at Emory University.