The research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is based on an analysis of 50,000 men and women. Researchers used bone-density tests, which show the amount of fat an individual carries.
he academics found those with the lowest BMI had a higher risk of dying early than those with an average BMI, probably because of pre-existing illness or malnutrition.
Those with high body fat scores also had a high risk of dying early, no matter what their BMI.
Dr William Leslie, from the University of Manitoba in Canada, told the Daily Mail: “The simple messaging that we’re all too fat and should be thinner is based on BMI.