I’m sorry, say Canadians, for boring with statistics

A big study of Canadians BMI, and does body mass index affect health?

This article used the standard WHO criteria¹ for body mass index, defining BMI > 25.0 as "overweight" and BMI>30.0 as "obese".

However, the article mentions a specific Canadian BMI criteria, which is BMI<20.0 is "underweight", BMI >25.0 is "some excess weight", and BMI>27.0 is "overweight".

This study used fairly recent data from 1996-1997. Here are some descriptive statistics about Canadians:

fairly recent? Hah.

Right you are, Billy. I originally made this post a long time ago.

Average height of women (Canadian) is 163 centimeters, or 5 feet 4 inches.

If the average height of women is 5 feet 4 inches, I’m a giant.

Average weight of women (Canadian) is 65.8 kg, or 145 pounds.

My goodness, the average weight of women is heavier than I am.

We can take your word on that, I’m sure.

Average Body Mass Index (BMI) of Canadian women is 24.8 kg/m².

I wonder if people search google for the average Body mass index of women?

Average height of men (Canadian) is 178 centimeters, or 5 feet 10 inches.
Average weight of men (Canadian) is 83.2 kg, or 183 pounds.
Average Body Mass Index (BMI) of Canadian men is 26.3 kg/m².

The study found that being overweight is associated with health risks. These types of illnesses occurred much more frequently in overweight people: asthma, arthritis, back problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid problems, activity limitations, repetitive strain injury.

The way this study abstract was written up, was deliberately constructed to mislead. Not every disease they mention had statistical significance, and they mixed in smoking and diabetes so they could mention other associated diseases.

There are different risks if you are too skinny. Osteoporotic hip fractures cause deaths for instance.

References

World Health Organization. Physical Status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry, Report of the WHO expert committs (WHO technical report series, No. 854) Geneva: World Health Organization, 1995.