Abstract
An “optimal” body weight has to be optimal for a particular purpose, otherwise the concept has little meaning. Although one can visualize situations in which substantially larger fat stores (and hence increased weight) would be biologically beneficial, this discussion will be limited to consideration of surveys of adiposity status in relation to morbidity and mortality outcomes in members of the U.S. population who were ostensibly healthy at study inception. The term “adiposity” is used here in recognition of the fact that weight for height is only one of an array of physical attributes related to adiposity that have been (and continue to be) used as indices of adiposity in epidemiological studies. Such attributes include body mass index (BMI), skinfold thicknesses measured at various sites, total body fat content (adjusted for stature), percent fat, pattern of regional fat distribution as inferred from such indices as the waist-hip circumference ratio (WHR), and visceral fat content in relation subcutaneous or total body fat content (Vanltallie & Lew, 1992 and 1993; Sjostrom, 1993).
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