Weight and mortality in men: the Albany Study.

In the Albany Study cohort of 1910 men, first examined between 1953 and 1955, 27-year mortality was least at relative weights between 100 and 109% of those considered desirable according to the 1959 Build and Blood Pressure Study. Mortality was greater at lower and higher weights. This association of weight and mortality was substantially stronger during the first 15 years after characterization than in the remaining 12 years. In contrast to the Albany Study, the 1979 insurance study and a study by the American Cancer Society reported minimum mortality for men at average weight by height, which is 15-20 pounds above the 1959 insurance standards. Other studies have reported minimum mortality at above-average weights. Perhaps the concept of an unvarying 'desirable' weight should be abandoned.