Who knew? Junk in the trunk linked to longevity

Red beans and rice didn’t miss you? That might not be such a bad thing.

A Canadian study recently indicated that people who carry “a few extra pounds” live longer than both their average and obese counterparts. According to the study, underweight and very obese people tend to die earlier than average people. But slightly overweight people had a clear advantage. Yay, science! This totally makes up for skinny jeans and Karl Lagerfeld.

Buzzkills reseachers added that the study accounted merely for longevity, not for quality life. In my entirely unscientific opinion, any lifestyle that includes less restricted access to crème brûlée, butter and brie is of a markedly higher quality.

Some statistics:

During the study period, from 1994/1995 through 2006/2007, underweight people were 70 percent more likely than people of normal weight to die, and extremely obese people were 36 percent more likely to die.

But overweight individuals were 17 percent less likely to die. The relative risk for obese people was nearly the same as for people of normal weight.

Study results echoed a previous study in the US.

An earlier study, conducted in the United States and published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed similar results.

[Source: Reuters]