A NEW REPORT, examining mortality statistics for almost three million people, has determined that people who would officially be deemed ‘overweight’ by modern classification live slightly longer than those whose weights are considered ‘healthy’.

The report from academics at the US National Center for Health Statistics found that those which would be statistically classified as overweight are 6 per cent less likely to die prematurely than those who are of ‘normal’ weight.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated by converting a person’s weight into kilograms, and dividing it by their height in metres. The resulting number is then divided by the height in metres again to give the BMI.

A BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered ‘normal’, while an index of between 25 and 29.9 is classified as ‘overweight’. An index of 30 or over is statistically determined to indicate obesity.

The study’s authors have stressed that their findings should not be interpreted as a warning against pursuing a New Year’s any health regime – but merely want to indicate that the Body Mass Index is an imperfect way of measuring someone’s health, relative to their weight, or their mortality.

“We wouldn’t want people to think, ‘Well, I can take a pass and gain more weight’,” the New York Times quotes Dr George Blackburn of the Harvard Medical School’s nutrition division as saying.

Instead, factors such as levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol should also be taken into account.

The findings also do not hold true for those considered obese: those with a BMI of over 30 are 18 per cent more likely to die prematurely, though when removing those with a BMI over 35, the risk of premature death is 5 per cent lower than the average.