Greater Body Roundness Means a Shorter Life
It is to your advantage not to become “round”
Having greater “roundness” definitely correlates with a shorter life. This new research finding reiterates the old adage — an apple-shaped body is unhealthy.
There are many measures that correlate with health and lifespan. Some have significant drawbacks, and others are too complicated for personal use. They each have their place, but in the end, simple measures are best because they can be done at home. Here are the most common measures, listed by the time of introduction.
Growing up, we had a scale in our bathroom. My parents checked themselves regularly, but they didn’t need to. Each of them was tall and lean and active throughout the day and ate, for the times, a healthy diet. As my father got into his 60s and early 70s, he began to develop the proverbial “beer belly.“ He recognized that, as he got older, he needed fewer calories. He knew or at least sensed that being overweight was not healthy. So, he reduced his caloric intake but maintained his activity level. The beer belly went away.
For over 100 years, life insurance companies have used the combination of height and weight (along with other factors like smoking) to determine the actuarial risk of the person’s life expectancy being less than average. With that…
