The whole government "health" industry's narrative just got KO'd; and by the NYT, too.
The report on nearly three million people found that those whose B.M.I. ranked them as overweight had less risk of dying than people of normal weight. And while obese people had a greater mortality risk over all, those at the lowest obesity level (B.M.I. of 30 to 34.9) were not more likely to die than normal-weight people.
Of course, when your talking about the government, it's never really about "health", it's about control. That, plus a little class snobbery thrown in for good measure.
By the way, my BMI is 29.4, which is less than Tom Cruise's, so I'm all set.
Here's some more from Slate: Is Fat Good?
Of course, the obvious explanation is that the science is wrong, but who in the 21st century is ever going to admit that?