Being underweight has a higher risk for dying than being overweight in older healthy people according to an article published in the March 2014 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health. This conclusion was based on a review of 51 studies that reviewed the links between body mass index (BMI) and death from any cause.
Results showed that for people who were mildly overweight (BMI of 18.5 or less) had a 1.8 times higher risk of dying that those with a normal BMI whereas obese people (BMI greater than 35) had only a 1.3 times increased risk of dying.
