To gauge the relationship between weight and mortality, the researchers, led by endocrinologist JoAnn Manson, tracked 115,000 nurses from 11 states who were 30 to 55 years old in 1976. For 16 years, the participants provided periodic updates on their weight and health, and the researchers recorded deaths from cancer, heart disease and other causes. The results, published in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that excess weight accounted for nearly a third of all cancer deaths and half of those from cardiovascular disease among nonsmoking women. Those who weighed the most for their height were four times as likely as their leanest counterparts to die of cardiovascular disease, and twice as likely to die of cancer. (In postmenopausal women, fat tissue fosters the production of tumor-promoting estrogens, and high-fat diets raise the level of cancer-causing bile salts in the co-Ion.) The trend toward higher mortality was evident even among women of average or mildly excessive weights. For example, a hypothetical 5-foot 5-inch woman was 20 percent more likely to die during the study if she weighed 135 pounds than if she weighed less than 120. If she weighed 170 pounds, her risk was 60 percent higher, and at 195 pounds her risk more than doubled.
The obvious message is that leaner is healthier. But statistical trends provide only a rough guide to personal health. The pattern revealed in the new study is based on a single figure known as body mass index (BMI), an expression of weight in relation to height. To compute your BMI, measure your weight in kilograms (pounds multiplied by .45), and divide that number by the square of your height in meters (inches multiplied by .0254). (The chart on this page gives a shortcut for these calculations.) The new findings suggest that a BMI of 19 or less is optimal, at least for middle-aged women, and that indexes of 25 or more grow increasingly risky. But people’s ideal BMIs can vary depending on what their weight consists of. A person with small bones and few muscles could carry an unhealthy amount of fat while maintaining a fairly low BMI. By the same token, an athlete with thick bones and a lot of lean muscle could qualify as overweight on the BMI scale despite her excellent health.
Alas, few of us face that problem. A typical American spends just 16 minutes a day exercising, and the average weight of U.S. adults has risen by 8 pounds since 1980. The government’s current guidelines recommend BMIs of 21 to 27 and sanction weight gains of up to 20 pounds in middle age. Yet even by those lax standards, a third of U.S. adults–32 million women and 26 million men–are at least 20 percent overweight. Even before the new study came out, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was revising its recommendations to reflect the growing awareness that we needn’t expand as we age. The new guidelines, due out later this year, could render half of the adult population officially overweight.
Some critics complain the Harvard study will leave women feeling utter failures if they don’t look like teenage models. “This perpetuates an obsession with weight rather than healthy lifestyle choices,” says Lynn Jaffee of the Melpomene Institute in St. Paul, Minn., which studies the link between exercise and women and girls’ health. But Manson is hardly promoting crash diets. Obesity’s toll would drop sharply if average-size women simply avoided gaining weight with age, she observes. Most Americans grow heavier throughout their 30s and 40s, as their metabolism slows and the demands of work and family conspire to make regular exercise difficult. People know that from their mirrors, and most would like to do something about it. If vanity can’t suppress our appetites, actuarial tables probably won’t have much success either. But as the new study makes clear, there is ample reason to keep trying.
Statistical trends offer only a rough guide to personal health. But a 16-year study of 115,000 nurses suggests that extremely lean women are the least likely to die prematurely.
Increased risk of early death
Source: Adapted from New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Joann E. Manson
B_Weight Watch_b Standards have changed since 1959. WEIGHT GUIDELINE YEAR FOR 5'5" WOMAN 1959[a] 116-130 lbs. 1983[a] 127-141 1990 126-162 1995 110-149
a MEDIUM FLAMES ONLY.
title: “Critical Mass” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Keith Norman”
Entrapment So few sparks fly between Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in this rank thriller that at the end you half expect him to adopt her. K.S. (1 star)
Lost & Found David Spade falls in love. This is a ripoff of “There’s Something About Mary,” right down to the sadistic dog gags and the sing-along closing credits. Just shoot me. J.G. (1 star)
The Winslow Boy Writer-director David Mamet and superb cast (Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam) refurbish Terence Rattigan’s 1946 play about an Edwardian family’s battle to exonerate a son accused of theft. Crisp and delicious. D.A. (4 stars)
BOOKS
A Dangerous Friend (Houghton Mifflin), by Ward Just. This consummate novelist of power takes readers back to the heady early days of the war in Vietnam, to that moment in 1965 when, for young men drawn to danger and driven by idealism, Saigon seemed the center of the world. It’s a powerful story beautifully told. J.M. (4 stars)
An Equal Music (Broadway), by Vikram Seth. Love hurts but Schubert soothes in this prettily written contemporary novel about a London-based violinist from the author of “A Suitable Boy.” C.P. (2 stars)
The Spell (Viking), by Alan Hollinghurst. In the English countryside, four men become involved in a sordid love quadrangle. Hollinghurst vividly details both the landscape and the subtlest of emotions. T.G. (3 stars)
TV & VIDEO
Noah’s Ark (NBC, May 2,3) In this two-parter, Oscar winners Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, F. Murray Abraham and James Coburn set sail across a vast sea of hokum with a boatload of cornball humor. Disarmingly amiable, but it doesn’t quite float. K.H. (2 stars)
title: “Critical Mass” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-27” author: “Larry Hays”
Besieged. African girl (Thandie Newton), English guy (David Thewlis) find each other in Rome. Bernardo Bertolucci’s most sprightly, poetic movie in years. R.S. (3 stars)
TV & VIDEO
A Lesson Before Dying (HBO; May 22) Fine performances from Don Cheadle, Mekhi Phifer and others propel this rich, contemplative adaptation of Ernest J. Gaines’s best seller. K.H. (3 stars)
The Jesse Ventura Story (NBC; May 23) One can only hope Minnesota’s grapplin’ gov’nor is more interesting than this silly, shallow biopic suggests. K.H. (1 star)
Cleopatra (ABC; May 23, 24) Bodice ripper, writ large. Huge sets, armies of extras and innumerable man-hours of wistful gazing from stars Leonor Varela, Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane. K.H. (2 stars)
MUSIC
Backstreet Boys, ‘Millennium’ (Jive) They’re baaack–and their impassioned harmonies are still undermined by Hallmark-card lyrics. Resistance, however, is futile. N.C. (1 star)
Snoop Doggy Dogg, ‘Top Dogg’ (No Limit) Snoop’s signature drawl makes his fourth CD as funky and funny as usual; samples and cameos by Master P’s posse and Dolemite’s Rudy Ray Moore add spice and texture to the mix. A.S. (3 stars)
BOOKS
The Other Side of Everest (Times), by Matt Dickinson. After a slow start, white-knuckle time on the summit ridge. D.G. (3 stars)
Dark Wind (Atlantic Monthly), by Gordon Chaplin. The author and his lover were sailing. The typhoon wasn’t bluffing. Tragic, but macho and off-putting. J.G. (2 stars)
Timbuktu (Henry Holt), by Paul Auster. It’s a dog’s life–literally–as Mr. Bones’s homeless owner is dying. The results are oddly resonant and tender. J.G. (3 stars)
title: “Critical Mass” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-22” author: “Peter Sorel”
This Is My Father The Quinn brothers–actor Aidan, writer-director Paul, cinematographer Declan–spin a heartfelt but hackneyed Irish romance. D.A. (2 stars)
BOOKS
The Drowning People, by Richard Mason (Warner Books). A hokey tragic romance. Mason, 21, snagged an $800,000 deal because he looks a little like Hugh Grant and writes a little like Donna Tartt. J.G. (2 stars)
Dear Exile, by Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery (Vintage). A lovely book: real letters from best friends in their 20s. One’s in Manhattan, the other in Africa. J.G. (3 stars)
THEATER
The Lonesome West (Lyceum Theatre, N.Y.) Superbly acted by the Druid company of Galway, Martin McDonagh’s McCain and Abel story is just about the darkest and funniest of all Irish plays. J.K. (4 stars)
MUSIC
Jim and Jesse, ‘The Old Dominion Masters’ (Pinecastle) A four-CD box, mostly material from the ’70s, by the classic bluegrass band. If you ever hear sweeter harmonies, you’d better hope your life insurance is paid up. D.G. (3 stars)
Naughty by Nature, ‘Nature’s Fury’ (Arista) Treach, Vinnie and Kay-Gee’s patented formula–hard-core hip-hop anthems backed by killer hooks–sounds as fresh as ever. N.C. (3 stars)
Kelly Willis, ‘What I Deserve’ (Rykodisc) Country ingenue tries on songs by Paul Westerberg and Nick Drake, plus a few of her own. Hell, everything looks good on her. K.S. (3 stars)
Ruff Ryders, ‘Ryde or Die Vol. 1’ (Ruff Ryders) All-star rappers (DMX, Jay-Z)? Check. Irresistible beats? Check. Spiritual bankruptcy? Check that too. N.C. (1 star)
title: “Critical Mass” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-21” author: “Patrick Gallardo”
Another Life (Random House), by Michael Korda. The editor-raconteur profiles writers and celebs; a canny insider’s look at the book business. R.S. (3 stars)
Girls on the Run (Farrar, Straus), by John Ashbery. A surreal book-length poem (based on “outsider” artist Henry Darger’s illustrated epic about plucky little girls) by the master wordslinger. D.G. (4 stars)
ART
Goya: Another Look (Philadelphia Museum of Art; through July 11) A small, but astute, selection from the painter (1746-1828) who may be our first modern artist. P.P. (3 stars)
MOVIES
Life Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence bicker their way through 60 years in a rural Southern prison. The stars shine even when the material wobbles. D.A. (2 stars)
Lovers of the Arctic Circle A boy and a girl fall in love and spend their lives losing and finding each other. This sweeping Spanish romance is full of wonders. Y.C. (4 stars)
eXistenZ Jennifer Jason Leigh plugs a virtual-reality game into her spine in David Cronenberg’s cool, creepy thriller. “The Matrix’s” cerebral cybercousin. D.A. (3 stars)
MUSIC
Ben Folds Five, ‘The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner’ (550 Music) The suavest, most ambitious neo-lounge album ever. As if we needed that. K.S. (3 stars)
The Cranberries, ‘Bury the Hatchet’ (Island) A fine, melodious CD, if lacking in edge. Who knew these guys could get even mellower? J.G. (3 stars)
DANCE
Cinderella (Ahmanson Theater, L.A.). Matthew Bourne’s stunning, sexy WWII take on Prokofiev’s ballet. D.A. (4 stars)
title: “Critical Mass” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-27” author: “Michelle Reed”
Never Been Kissed A cub reporter (Drew Barrymore) goes back to high school undercover, and discovers she’s still a loser. It’s formulaic, but Barry- more’s got a good heart–and a great presence. J.G. (3 stars)
Hideous Kinky Perhaps seeking purity after the megabucks of “Titanic,” Kate Winslet plays a woman seeking spiritual purity in Morocco. This rambling flick will be pure zilch at the box office. J.K. (2 stars)
TV & VIDEO
Love Letters (ABC, April 12) A. R. Gurney’s well-traveled play about an epistolary romance wilts on screen, despite the enchanting Laura Linney as the free-spirited girlfriend. M.P. (2 stars)
MUSIC
Ben Lee, ‘Breathing Tornados’ (Grand Royal) Indie rock’s former boy wonder has reduced the feedback–and his smile is as irresistible as his scowl. Now 20 and in love (with Claire Danes), a lo-fi Lee sheds his adolescent angst for infectious electro-folk. A.D. (3 stars)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, ‘Echo’ (Warner Bros.) On a good day, Petty’s a great pop songwriter. On a bad day, he sounds like this. “Echo” feels listless and recycled, and only a couple of tunes really get their hooks into you. J.G. (2 stars)
Underworld, ‘Beaucoup Fish’ (V2) This underwhelming techno album doesn’t serve up the big beats until track 11–the last track on the record. Everything else is just Muzak for the masses. N.C. (2 stars)
ART
Sigmar Polke: Works on Paper, 1963-74 (Museum of Modern Art, New York, through June 16) Polke invented slacker-style drawing in the early ’60s. And, as this big exhibition shows, he’s still way better at it than American kids because Germans his age (58) have a lot more to feel lousy about. P.P. (4 stars)
