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Archives | (August 2003)
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With A Stroke Of A Pen (cont.)
------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 5 of 6 More important, in giving them to people who do not need them, doctors are exposing their patients to unwarranted risk of severe side effects. However, just as was the case with high blood pressure medications, the doctors had little choice. The new standard said they had to administer the drugs, and if they didn’t they could be accused of malpractice. So even those who were willing to buck Big Pharma did so only at their peril. They could be sued for malpractice or even lose their license to practice. Few would take the chance – no matter how much they questioned the requirement. But, HHS and NIH claim the public benefits from these new mandates. The only trouble is that the evidence calls this claim into question. Take for example the whole issue of obesity. The claim is that being overweight – as defined by BMI – is a guarantee of health problems down the road. But is it? Not according to the American Journal of Public Health! In a March 2002 article, Dr Paula Diehr of the University of Washington School of Public Health reported the findings of a study of 4,317 nonsmoking men and women between the ages of 65 and 100. According to Dr. Diehr: “We found no correlation between body mass index and mortality among study participants. … Instead, it appears that significant, unintended weight loss should be of primary concern.” The results of the study were quite compelling. Women with a body mass index of 20 or lower all had a higher mortality rate than others. For a woman five feet four inches tall, that translates into a weight of 115 pounds or less. Subjects who lost 10% or more of their weight since the age of 50 also had a significantly higher mortality rate. Among women the rate was 15.9% higher and among men a whopping 30.3% higher. Now, none of this is to say that there is no danger in being grossly obese. Clearly if someone is grossly overweight they will run the risk of serious health consequences. Rather, it calls into question the obsession with BMI as an indicator. In fact, the average American woman has a BMI of 26 (equal to 150 pounds for a five foot, four inch tall woman) which is defined as being overweight! Yet, had the chart not been changed, this would not be the case. Under the old chart, that same woman’s BMI would have been 24, within normal limits! But, you might ask, doesn’t the lowering of cholesterol and blood pressure benefit the public? |
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