We've all been beaten over the head with warnings from our docs about the dangers of being overweight, especially as we age. Now, a recent Canadian study says being a little overweight as we get older might actually help you live longer.

Dr. Jennifer Kuk, the lead study researcher at York University in Toronto, states that, "Higher fat mass in older adults is thought to be an energy reserve that helps the individual survive illnesses and chronic conditions." Kuk discovered that lower weight was associated with with a greater risk of dying among men and women aged 65 and older. If an individual is 75 or older and underweight, the risk of death by any cause increases by a factor of 1.6 for men and nearly 3 in women.

Kuk and her colleagues used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted over a six-year period, to assess body mass, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, hip circumference and other body mass-fat indicators among 4,437 men and 5,166 women. Overall, 1,116 of them were 65 to 75 years old and 1,200 were older than 75 years.

Over an average of 8.7 years, 1,466 study participants died. As expected, the fewest deaths -- 4 percent in men and 3.5 percent in women -- occurred among those 18 to 64 years old. In this group, the risk of death was increased in obese men and in overweight and obese women. In the older groups, though, being underweight was associated with greater mortality, and being overweight translated into lower mortality.

Obesity seems to be a greater concern in younger adults when considering risk of death, according to the Canadian researchers. The study leads also affirms that younger adults should strive to maintain a healthy weight in order to keep certain illnesses and death at bay. Although the researchers' findings have shed quite a bit of light on the subject of old age, weight gain and life extension, they also want to make it clear that they still need to investigate this further.

So seniors, don't go giving yourselves the green light to stuff those Twinkies down nonstop!