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Study: Healthiest Weight Might Just Be 'Overweight'

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – According to a new study, packing on a few pounds may actually help you live longer.

A Denmark study found that those who are considered "overweight" are now living the longest.

Researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital conducted the study for nearly 40-years.

It involved more than 100,000 adults, and found that those with an "overweight" body mass index were more likely to live longer than those in the "healthy," "underweight," and "obese" categories.

The study was posted May 10th in JAMA.

Researchers found from 1976 to 2013, BMI associated with lowest risk of death increased from 23.7 to 27.

The study also found that those in the "obese" category actually ended up having the same risk of death as those with a "normal" BMI.

In in an interview with Science News, one doctor says the study was carefully done.

"BMI as a number alone may not be sufficient to predict health and risk of death. It has to be taken within context," said Rexford Ahima, a physician who studies endocrine disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

People with BMIs between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered normal.

A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is "overweight"; 30 and above is "obese."

Doctors caution that just because of the results, it's not an excuse to "eat as much as you want."

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They say that the results may indicate there are better treatments for those who suffer from ailments having to do with weight problems. That is what may have caused "healthy" BMI values to creep up over time.

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