Walk into any clothing store or open up just about any magazine these days and you’ll see all sorts of unrealistic depictions of humanity. Clothes are always modeled by the men and women in the best physical shape of their lives and by people of great beauty. Our culture believes that the ideal specimen of health is just one or two steps away from being a stick figure, but it turns out that this might not be the case. In some cultures being somewhat overweight is considered a sign of wealth and health, and these people might have been onto something.

The Center for Disease Control recently did a study about how one’s weight contributes to their overall health. The survey actually found that being very thin caused a slight increase in the risk of death compared to those who are at the appropriate weight for their height and those who are slightly overweight!

The CDC’s study found that if you’re under 30 years of age and slightly overweight, you have no increased risk to get cancer or heart disease. In fact, for some diseases, it can even significantly lessen your risk of death.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which is about as prestigious as it gets in the medical world. The survey accounted for many extraneous factors such as age, race, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

This is not however a green light for you to totally ignore your health and get out of shape. The CDC’s study found a significant increase in risk for death in those who are extremely obese, which make up about 8% of the United States. Being obese is definitely not a winning game plan, but there’s nothing wrong with a little extra heft here and there.

It Turns Out Being Fat Isn’t So Bad After All was created by and is property of American Consumer News.