It's been a fairly uneventful couple of days, so I thought I would write a brief post on a very interesting piece of scientific research released last week.
A 12-year study of more than 50,000 people by the Japanese government has found that overweight people live longer on average than people with a body mass index in the normal range. And both groups live longer than skinny people.
See, not only are the bodies of those of us packing on the pounds more interesting with their unexpected nooks and crannies, they are actually turning out to be efficient machines to keep us in the race longer than the rest of you. Kind of like those spare tires actually come in handy.
And those of you who can not only see your toes but actually touch them without bending your knees, don't plan on jumping on the longer life bandwagon. The lead researcher is quoted as saying people will not add years to their lives by trying to add weight. Sorry, but if you're not already a bit on the plump side there's not much you can do about it now.
This all sounds so reminiscent of that great visionary, Allen Konigsberg in his movie about the future. The writer better known as Woody Allen, had this exchange when a character from the 20th century awakens 200 years in the future in Sleeper:
Dr Melik: This morning for breakfast he requested something called "wheat germ, organic honey and tiger's milk."
Dr Aragon: Oh, yes. Those are the charmed substances that some years ago were thought to contain life-preserving properties.
Dr Melik: You mean there was no deep fat? No steak or cream pies or... hot fudge?
Dr Aragon: Those were thought to be unhealthy... precisely the opposite of what we now know to be true.
Dr Melik: Incredible.
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