Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?

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  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.
    Lady, losing weight is hard.

    We are but simple vessels of water.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.
    Lady, losing weight is hard.

    We are but simple vessels of water.

    No doubt. Hard and worth it, though.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    It's a b on the wardrobe budget though. lol.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    Indeed. But how awesome is it wearing sexy things? I know you run around in a thong now all the time, db.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Actually, just got this nice sport coat and an overcoat for winter. Both are already loose. I coulda spent that money on another 4 months of trainer sessions. >_<
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.

    Now this I really don't understand. The article wasn't about justifying anything.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    Here's a far more interesting question.

    Can you carry a 10-15% greater fat load than mean for "Average" and be healthy?

    I think figuring the mean for average fat load would be very interesting indeed. What method would be used?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.

    Now this I really don't understand. The article wasn't about justifying anything.

    I said a means.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.

    Now this I really don't understand. The article wasn't about justifying anything.

    I said a means.

    Sorry for being dense, but I still don't understand. Do you mean that some people might read that article and think "Oh good, no need to lose weight"?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.

    Now this I really don't understand. The article wasn't about justifying anything.

    I said a means.

    Sorry for being dense, but I still don't understand. Do you mean that some people might read that article and think "Oh good, no need to lose weight"?

    Yes, I am sure it has happened.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Health is more than just about weight and great blood work though. Factors for good health are:

    Weight (number 1 risk)
    Nutrition
    Enough rest
    Stress level
    Environment (smog, pollution, etc.)
    Risk behavior (smoking, etc.)
    Exercise/fitness level
    Genetics
    Mental statis (feeling happy is different than feeling sad, also illness mentally)

    So one could be overweight and "healthy" in that aspect, but suffering from any of the others could trump it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    Well, yes, of course. Even things that can help keep you at a 'healthy weight' can cause you to be unhealthy through injury or overexertion. And you could be born unhealthy, or genetically predisposed to disease. There are no guarantees, no matter what you do or eat. But that’s not really the focus of the article.
    If the regards are just to weight as the marker for being "healthy", then yes some can be overweight and still have good health.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    PRMinx wrote: »
    I never understand these threads. It seems like a means to justify staying overweight.

    Now this I really don't understand. The article wasn't about justifying anything.

    I said a means.

    Sorry for being dense, but I still don't understand. Do you mean that some people might read that article and think "Oh good, no need to lose weight"?

    Yes, I am sure it has happened.

    I suppose it's possible, though it certainly doesn't make the article less interesting to me.

    If a person is active and healthy by physical exam while maintaining a weight that is overweight, I see no reason why they would need justification for not trying to lose weight. But if they did, this article might provide it.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited December 2014
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    The best thing to have, when it comes to health, is luck.

    Most of the people who have heart attacks are not pictures of health. They eat too much, they eat junk, they pay no attention to sodium and they don't get regular cardio exercise. But you do have the occasional person who has always been thin, eats healthy, exercises regularly and still ends up in the cath lab.

    Nobody knows yet exactly why a few fat people beat the odds and a few physically fit people get clobbered by them. Luck is much better than a healthy diet. But we have to play the odds and do what we can.

    You don't even need studies to tell you that obesity shortens life spans. Just think about how many 300 pound eighty year olds you see.

    OP, I did read the article. I'm not a fan of Dr. Nancy, but I did read it. :)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Kalikel wrote: »
    The best thing to have, when it comes to health, is luck.

    Most of the people who have heart attacks are not pictures of health. They eat too much, they eat junk, they pay no attention to sodium and they don't get regular cardio exercise. But you do have the occasional person who has always been thin, eats healthy, exercises regularly and still ends up in the cath lab.

    Nobody knows yet exactly why a few fat people beat the odds and a few physically fit people get clobbered by them. Luck is much better than a healthy diet. But we have to play the odds and do what we can.

    You don't even need studies to tell you that obesity shortens life spans. Just think about how many 300 pound eighty year olds you see.

    OP, I did read the article. I'm not a fan of Dr. Nancy, but I did read it. :)

    Who is Dr. Nancy? And, as mentioned in the article, I think you are mixing obese with overweight.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Health is more than just about weight and great blood work though. Factors for good health are:

    Weight (number 1 risk)
    Nutrition
    Enough rest
    Stress level
    Environment (smog, pollution, etc.)
    Risk behavior (smoking, etc.)
    Exercise/fitness level
    Genetics
    Mental statis (feeling happy is different than feeling sad, also illness mentally)

    So one could be overweight and "healthy" in that aspect, but suffering from any of the others could trump it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    Well, yes, of course. Even things that can help keep you at a 'healthy weight' can cause you to be unhealthy through injury or overexertion. And you could be born unhealthy, or genetically predisposed to disease. There are no guarantees, no matter what you do or eat. But that’s not really the focus of the article.
    If the regards are just to weight as the marker for being "healthy", then yes some can be overweight and still have good health.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    That was my take on it. The relationship between overweight, but not obese, and being/remaining healthy.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Overweight is a medical designation used to describe anyone higher than the normal/healthy range on the BMI scale. There are people who, due to sheer lean mass, qualify as overweight based on that alone. These people, however, are few and far between. There are a ton of people who think they qualify here but really don't.

    Is it possible to be overweight from fat and still be healthy? It's possible for someone to be overweight yet not currently experience any health risks that can be measured by normal medical tools, but it does catch up with you after a while in terms of joint health because the bottom line is that carrying that extra weight from fat is hell on the joints. Bone density increases with muscle so as you build lean mass your bones become stronger, leading to stronger joints. Being heavier from fat carries no such benefit.

    Well, now that is interesting. Do you mean that having muscle increases bone density, or just that to get/keep muscle you usually must do something that would also benefit bone density?
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    Here's a far more interesting question.

    Can you carry a 10-15% greater fat load than mean for "Average" and be healthy?

    I think figuring the mean for average fat load would be very interesting indeed. What method would be used?

    Good question. If HIPPAA could be ignored, it would be rather easy to get stratified samples from different regions. Find the actual mean and deviations for the population for multiple classes based on age and I'd gather educational and economic data.

    Then from there, determine health potential per class, a health prediction model would be helpful there, but beyond my knowledge.

    Then after all that, and model validation. Placing someone in the right bucket and assigning a predictor value should be easy. You know, "easy".
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
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    Short answer: Yes.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    dbmata wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Here's a far more interesting question.

    Can you carry a 10-15% greater fat load than mean for "Average" and be healthy?

    I think figuring the mean for average fat load would be very interesting indeed. What method would be used?

    Good question. If HIPPAA could be ignored, it would be rather easy to get stratified samples from different regions. Find the actual mean and deviations for the population for multiple classes based on age and I'd gather educational and economic data.

    Then from there, determine health potential per class, a health prediction model would be helpful there, but beyond my knowledge.

    Then after all that, and model validation. Placing someone in the right bucket and assigning a predictor value should be easy. You know, "easy".

    De-intentified data is not that hard to get for a researcher that can show need and resources. But I doubt most medical data contains information on body fat content, other than an estimate based on BMI.