RUTHFULLY YOURS

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By KATHERINE ROSMAN

People should consume, on average, no more than 2,000 calories a day, according to U.S. dietary guidelines. Eat fiber. Avoid saturated fat. And keep your sodium intake under 2,300 milligrams a day.

For women, the rules are even tougher: A recent study says women should exercise 60 minutes per day, every day, in order to just maintain their weight as they age.

People are awash in information, recommendations and rules surrounding weight and wellness. It’s almost impossible to keep track of the medical and nutritional studies (some of which are contradictory) that are published in journals and on Web sites. And it’s difficult, at a minimum, to adhere to them.

But here’s some news that may take a bit of the pressure off: A body of research is emerging that suggests that there’s little risk to carrying a few extra pounds. And there may even be some benefit. Indeed, people who are 10-to-15 pounds overweight appear to have no greater risk of dying than those of so-called “normal” weight. Other studies have shown that those who are overweight are no more likely to die from cancer or cardiovascular disease. Also, being a little overweight may help stave off osteoporosis. And it can make you look younger, too.

While experts agree that obesity is a serious health issue with widespread medical implications, there is a difference between carrying a bit of extra fat and being obese. “Just because someone is slightly overweight doesn’t mean they’re not healthy,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Indeed, researchers and doctors are starting to understand that eating healthy foods and getting exercise can matter more than the number that appears when you step on the scale.

And if you have just a little extra jiggle in your jeans, that fat is likely less dangerous than the kind carried by the obese. The fat sported by those slightly overweight is most often subcutaneous, meaning it is surface fat that is often carried on hips, thighs and in the gluteus region. That fat is less harmful to health than visceral fat, which is characterized as fat that attaches to organs and often causes a protruded belly. Visceral fat can increase the chances of developing heart disease and diabetes.

To calculate how much individuals should weigh, health-care professionals rely on a measurement that considers height and weight, and is known as the “Body Mass Index” (BMI). A BMI of 18.5 through 24.9 is considered normal. “Overweight” is considered having a BMI of 25 to 29.9. A person with a BMI of 30 or higher qualifies as obese.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about one-third of adult Americans are obese, a condition caused by both genes and behavior. About 67% of adults are either obese or overweight, according to BMI measures. (But CDC evidence is showing a slow down in the growth rate of the obese population.) People with obesity are at greater risk for developing coronary heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer and hypertension.

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Equinox A new ad by gym chain Equinox. The campaign features gym members discussing their focus on issues besides thinness

In two related studies conducted in 2005 and 2007 and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, CDC senior scientist Katherine M. Flegal found that people who are overweight (according to the BMI) are no more likely than those of normal weight to die from cancer or cardiovascular disease. In the study, Dr. Flegal and her co-authors estimated mortality rates based on data found in health surveys of about 5,000 people that the CDC conducts each year. Of the participants whose BMI classified them as overweight, the actual rate of mortality was less than the scientists had estimated. The underweight and obese categories recorded higher rates of mortality than had been estimated.

An Australian study found that people in their 70s who were overweight were less likely than those of normal weight to die during a 10-year time span. This could indicate that a little extra weight might fortify people against illness and injury as they age.

The study, which was published in February in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, studied about 9,000 men and women. It also found that “a little physical activity” twice a week was enough to ameliorate some of the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle, says Leon Flicker, the study’s chief scientist and a professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Western Australia.

Doctors who study osteoporosis see some benefits to being 10 pounds overweight: Subcutaneous fat produces estrogen which can help increase bone mass. And it might strengthen a skeleton to carry a bit of extra weight, says Felicia Cosman, clinical director of National Osteoporosis Foundation and a professor of medicine at Columbia University. “Women should not worry if they are 10 to 15 pounds overweight, particularly if the fat is not concentrated in [the] belly,” Dr. Cosman says.

A little extra fat may also act as a natural face-lift. Last year, the Archives of Dermatology published a study that said, as women grow older, those who are overweight appeared younger than those who were normal or underweight. That is because a little fat provides more structure for the skin which can combat the sagging that comes with age. Indeed, many of the newest cosmetic procedures aim to mimic the role of fat in the face, instead of simply filling in lines and wrinkles.

“We’re adding volume,” says Patricia Farris, a dermatologist in New Orleans. Dr. Farris says her sister who is seven years her senior and weighs more than she does is often mistaken as being her younger sister. “It kills me,” she says. “But it’s your face or your fanny.”

Now, even gyms are embracing those extra 10 pounds. Equinox, a national chain of gyms, has debuted a new ad campaign called “My Body. My Biography,” where gym members of all sizes (well, most sizes, at least) discuss their acceptance of their bodies and their focus on health over thinness.

“I think everything has drastically changed with what has happened with the economy,” says Bianca Kosoy, the gym’s senior creative director. “It’s about quality time and wellness. It’s about having a sound body and mind. It’s not about the perfect physical body.”