Excerpt: Apparently the research on [the health concerns of high BMI] isn’t cut and dry. According to Linda Bacon, Ph.D., author of “Health at Every Size,” BMI “only weakly predicts longevity,” except in extreme cases. She says that most studies following large groups of participants over many years “find that people who are overweight or moderately obese live at least as long as normal weight people, and often longer.”
Bacon emphasizes working toward health — physically and emotionally — rather than making weight loss your goal.