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| Two years ago Katherine M. Flegal, a re-search-er at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, did a new statistical analysis of national survey data on obesity and came to a startling conclusion: mildly overweight adults had a lower risk of dying than those at so-called healthy weights. |
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２年前，米疾病対策センター（CDC）のフリーガル（Katherine M. Flegal）は肥満に関する米国民のデータを新たに統計解析し，驚きの結論に達した。中程度の体重過多にある成人は，いわゆる健康体重の人よりも死亡リスクが低いというのだ。 |
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| Decades of research and thousands of studies have suggested precisely the opposite: that being even a little overweight is bad and that being obese is worse. The distinction between overweight and obese―which are sometimes both classified under the rubric of obesity―can be confusing. It relates to the measure called body mass index (BMI), derived by dividing one's weight in kilograms by the square of one's height in meters. A myriad of Internet-based calculators will handle the math for you. The only thing to remember is that a BMI of at least 25 but less than 30 is considered overweight, and one of 30 or more is characterized as obese. |
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過去数十年にわたる何千件もの研究はまるで逆のことを示している。わずかな体重過多も健康にはよくなく，肥満はもっと悪い。「体重過多（太り気味）」と「肥満」の区分は混乱しがちだが，両者は体格指数（BMI，ボディー･マス･インデックス）という指標を使って区分される。BMIは体重（キログラム単位）を身長（メートル単位）の数値の２乗で割った値だ。BMIが25以上30未満の人は体重過多，30以上が肥満に分類される（訳注：日本での分類は，本誌12月号掲載の表を参照）。 |
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| The long-established conventional wisdom holds that Americans carrying excess fat are at increased risk of death from heart disease, diabetes and various kinds of cancer. And those who do not die of obesity-related ailments can possibly look forward to a variety of other unpleasant consequences of their weight, including diabetes and its complications, such as the loss of an arm or leg, blindness and kidney failure. That has been the consensus view of most experts for decades, and it has not changed. |
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余分な脂肪を抱える人は心臓病や糖尿病，さまざまな種類のがんで死亡するリスクが高いというのが，以前からの常識だ。命までは落とさずとも，さまざまな不幸な結末が予想される。例えば糖尿病とその合併症で腕や足を失い，失明し，腎不全に陥る。以上は多くの専門家が過去数十年来一致して示してきた見解で，現在も変わらない。 |
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| Just as Flegal's study appeared, a series of books―by lawyers, journalists, political scientists and other academics outside the medical profession―was published, all challenging conventional wisdom on obesity. Fat, the critics said, was not as bad as we had been led to believe. Furthermore, they said, the research community that condemned obesity had a financial stake in that point of view because of the scientists' complex ties to drugmakers and weight-loss clinics. |
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フリーガルの研究結果が発表されてすぐに，一連の本が出版された。いずれも肥満に関する従来の知識に異を唱えるもので，著者は弁護士やジャーナリスト，政治学者，医学以外の学者など。肥満はいわれるほど悪くはないと彼らは主張した。さらに，肥満を糾弾している研究者は製薬会社や減量クリニックと複雑につながっており，利害関係が影響していると指摘した。 |
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| The flow of critical books has continued. Earlier this year Barry Glassner, author of the best-selling book The Culture of Fear (Basic Books, 2000), published The Gospel of Food: Everything You Think You Know About Food Is Wrong (Ecco, 2007). He argues that if we paid more attention to enjoying our food, rather than dieting and counting calories, we would be happier and healthier. It is an appealing argument, but Glassner, a sociologist at the University of Southern California, has not done any research studies to show whether it is true. |
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批判本の洪水はなおも続いている。ベストセラー『アメリカは恐怖に踊る』の著者グラスナー（Barry Glassner）は今年，『食物の真実──あなたの知識は全部間違い』という本を出した。彼は，私たちが減量やカロリー計算よりも食事を楽しむことにもっと注意を払えば，より幸せで健康になるだろうと説く。これは確かに興味深い主張だが，南カリフォルニア大学の社会学者であるグラスナーはその主張の正しさを示す研究をまったく行っていない。 |
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| The stakes in this debate are high. A major thrust of the nation's disease prevention efforts are aimed at ending what orthodox researchers say is an epidemic of obesity. If being overweight or obese is as harmful as these investigators say, the associated health care costs constitute a substantial drag on the American economy. The CDC estimated in 2004 that obesity's costs in health care and lost productivity amount to $75 billion annually. Put an end to the fattening of America, these researchers say, and Americans will be healthier, live longer and pay less for their medical care. We might even see gains in American competitiveness, with growth in jobs and wages. |
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どちらが正しいのかによって事は大きく変わってくる。米国の疾病予防対策は正統派研究者たちが「肥満の蔓延」と呼ぶものを終息させることに主眼を置いている。体重過多や肥満にいわれるような害があるなら，関連の健康管理費用は国の経済に重荷となっている。疾病対策センターは2004年，肥満がもたらしているコストを医療費と生産力損失を合わせ年間に750億ドル（約８兆6000億円）と試算した。太りすぎに終止符を打てば，人々はより健康で長生きになり，医療費は少なくてすむ。経済競争力が高まり，雇用が増え，賃金も上がるかもしれない。 |
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