Discussion: I'm pretty overweight and a COPD patient. The attending physician told me that lean people are healthier. I'm not convinced she's right.

Weight problems plague everyone, including COPD patients. Except in the extreme case of obese people, it is challenging to draw unambiguous conclusions about their health based only on weight.

Healthy people usually maintain the optimal weight for their body structure. (They are not necessarily thin.) Obese people are often unhealthy, as being overweight results from an unhealthy lifestyle and poor nutrition. Regarding their age (who are a large part of the population), medium overweight is not necessarily healthy but is also not necessarily sicker than others. Thin people are also not necessarily healthier than overweight people. Good health is a combined result of lifestyle, environment, nutrition, and genetics.