That's exactly what it does. This is in my opinion the best explanation for why overweight people have lower mortality than either obese or lean. They have a better metabolic response to poor diet than those that don't protect with fat, but aren't yet as compromised as the obese. https://twitter.com/jcthemd/status/1190275708586790913 …
I'd argue (and I have) that the reduction in mortality for overweight is mostly due to confounding, and the 'obesity paradox' has been largely explained for a whilehttps://medium.com/@gidmk/obesity-is-bad-for-your-health-b21439caa543 …