dr-exmedic.com

Obese people are at a higher risk for many illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease (although whether it’s the weight per se that matters, versus the inactivity that frequently led to the weight, is still up for debate–there are currently ongoing studies separating out the healthy obese from the unhealthy nonobese in addition to the stereotypical categories).  One study to come out of the ACEP Research Forum, though, suggests that obese people may be at a lower risk of one very important outcome:  C-spine injury in blunt trauma.

The study suggests that obese people have a one-third reduction in risk of C-spine injury in blunt trauma.  The authors speculate that the extra fat in the neck could stabilize the spine.  Again, I can’t assess their statistics based on just the abstract, but it still is an interesting bit of information–even if the risk reduction isn’t enough to recommend obesity as a protective strategy.