The changing relationship between bodyweight and longevity in high- and low-income countries
估计了不同收入国家中体重指数与长寿的关系，发现传统肥胖率指标不能反映人口中超过死亡率最低体重的比例，低收入国家中不健康体重的人口比例可能更高。
Standard measures of bodyweight (overweight and obese, for example) fail to reflect differences across populations and technological progress over time. This paper builds on the pioneering work of Hans Waaler (1984) and Robert Fogel (1994) to empirically estimate how the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and longevity varies across high-, middle-, and low-income countries. Importantly, we show that these differences are so profound that the share of national populations above mortality-minimizing bodyweight is not clearly greater in countries with higher overweight and obesity rates (as traditionally defined)–and in fact, relative to current standards, a larger share of low-income countries’ populations can be unhealthily heavy. • The article suggests an alternative approach to BMI thresholds. • It considers mortality in relation to height and weight not imposing BMI thresholds. • The findings emphasize large differences across populations. • Overweight and obesity rates do not match population shares above mortality-minimizing bodyweights. • The population health implications of changing anthropometric status worldwide are more complex than currently understood