Muscle mass, BMI, and mortality among adults in the United States: A population-based cohort study.
Matthew K AbramowitzCharles B HallAfolarin AmoduDeep SharmaLagu AndrogaMeredith HawkinsPublished in: PloS one (2018)
Muscle mass mediates associations of BMI with adiposity and mortality and is inversely associated with the risk of death. After accounting for muscle mass, the BMI associated with the greatest survival shifts downward toward the normal range. These results provide a concrete explanation for the obesity paradox.