The Obesity Paradox: Survival benefit or statistical fallacy?
During our March Gold Coast Skeptics in the Pub, the Diet Skeptic Mandy-Lee Noble explores the evidence behind the obesity paradox and why using crude measures such as weight and BMI are not necessarily the best predictors of health. She discusses why focusing on weight and BMI alone can not only cause significant stress but may not be evidence based. Instead, Mandy argues that we should be focusing on promoting healthy habits such as not smoking, regular exercise, healthy diet, and moderate alcohol intake which can significantly decrease morbidity and mortality irrespective of weight.
Mandy concludes that the data "shows that the relationship between weight and health is as complex and nuanced as the individual bodies it attempts to represent".
Listen to Mandy's talk: click here
Slides: click here
About the speaker
Mandy-Lee Noble (Dietitian and Nutritionist, The Diet Skeptic)
Mandy is an accredited practising dietitian who works in private practice, community health and nutrition education for health professionals. As both a dietitian and a sceptic Mandy written reports for The Skeptic Zone Podcast and the Australian Skeptic Magazine on health and nutrition woo.
Website and contact: https://www.nourishedapproach.com.au/
