Here's a new way to think about obesity: Maybe it's an evolutionary strategy to enhance the fitness of human beings in the competition with their deadliest predator, the automobile.
Victims with an above-normal body mass index were found to have less severe injuries than their counterparts. “It is not implausible that a greater proportion of torso and extremity fat may protect against injury,” the report said.
Dr. Frangos noted that generally, overweight and obese patients fared worse once admitted to a hospital, but that perhaps “that extra layer offers some protection at the time of the injury.”