Home » The Science on Weight and Health Is More Complicated Than You Think

The Science on Weight and Health Is More Complicated Than You Think

There’s a lot that people—including healthcare professionals—get wrong about the connection.

Thisstorymentionsweight,weightloss,and/orprescriptionGLP-1drugs,whichareFDA-approvedforweightmanagementinadultsdiagnosedwithobesityorwithoverweightandatleastoneweight-relatedhealthcondition.Recently,thesemedicationshavebecomeextremelypopular,inpartduetoofflabeluse.AtSELF,ourjobistopresentyou—ourreader—withscience-backedinformationthatyoucanusetoguidethedecisionsyoumakeaboutyourbody,whichiswhywewrotethearticlebelow. Whileresearchsuggestshavingahigherweightmayincreaseyourriskforcertainconditions,peoplecanbehealthyateverysize.BMIisnotanaccuratemeasureofhealth,anditscategorizationscancontributetoweightstigma.Forsomepeople,pursuingweightlosscanbeharmful,forinstancebycontributingtoweightcyclingorincreasingtheriskofdevelopinganeatingdisorder;forothers,itmaybehelpfulforaddressinghealthconcernsorsimplyhavinganeasiertimeexistinginaworldwithrampantanti-fatbias.Theseconversationsrequirenuance,andweho