This sounds promising.
My understanding of these issues from discussions with a friend who does research in this area is:
1) Greater weight isn't associated with higher mortality, given modern medicine.
2) Weight is associated with life-impacting conditions such as diabetes, however...
3) There isn't really any evidence, even aside from the relative futility of weight loss attempts, that losing weight, once gained, is any help.
4) That doesn't mean that general diet, exercise and lifestyle issues are unimportant, just that the focus on weight and weight loss especially in isolation is misplaced.
