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04/22/2005:

"You Can Be Too Thin, After All"

The latest study of obese and overweight Americans upends much of what we thought we knew about the health dangers of excess poundage. After decades of dire warnings to slim down if we want to survive to a ripe old age, it now turns out that a modest amount of "excess" weight may actually be good for you, while being too thin can be dangerous.

This perplexing message comes from a study that looks like the most authoritative analysis yet of the relationship between mortality and the "body mass index," a measure that correlates weight to height.
Full Article: nytimes.com

Come on. I just had an emaciated young girl in my office yesterday who is dying from anorexia/bulimia. There is not a soul in the world who can convince her she is not grossly fat. This obssession we have with slenderness is literally killing many young women. Anyone who's paying minimal attention should know "you can be too thin." This flippant tone is offensive.