Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?
Replies
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Where do these hordes of healthy obese people hide, lemon?
It didn't say that, I cut off the quote at 'overweight' because that was the question, it does go on to say that overweight people run of the risk of becoming obese.
I thought the point of this discussion is can people maintain at BMI of 'overweight' and still be healthy with the extra weight.
What about the idea that you can be obese but fit? Unfortunately, compelling evidence suggests that obesity is linked with an increased risk of death and heart events, even if one's metabolic and heart health numbers are good.
The challenge for people who are overweight is to avoid gaining even more weight and becoming metabolically unhealthy, obese or both.0 -
I'm considered "obese" according to BMI. I am also considered Healthy by Numerous doctors.
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Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.0 -
Funny that the article confuses healthy and fit.
The sentiment is right, though. And if we're talking about being fit and fat, there are plenty of people with higher bodyfat percentages than me who can run a marathon. I can't even run 5k (not that I want or need to run more than maybe 50m - how long is a tennis court these days?). Point being, for endurance running, they're fitter than me.0 -
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray0 -
paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Can you smoke and not develop lung cancer? Definately! But the risk is much higher, so why risk it? Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, so why risk it?
Does it really? The article seems to suggest that it's not always so.
What the article is stating is that as long as you are in good metabolic health you should be fine, and yes you could be overweight with a great metabolic health. But it also does state that the higher you slide on the BMI scale the higher your risk is of developing metabolic issues.
You could be overweight but active enough to counteract it, you could be overweight but lucky enough to have good genetics, you could be overweight by BMI but with a good fat distribution or a larger build, you could be overweight ever so slightly that you are actually at a good weight for you despite of what BMI says. Yes, all of these are possible. But if all things were equal (genetic predisposition, activity level, fat distribution.. etc) I believe a person who is within the normal range (not necessarily according to BMI) would be healthier than someone who has more extra weight.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
Why would you be? And, if you are healthy now, how? How can you be healthier than healthy?
I answered what I think. The reason I THINK this is because I KNOW I'm healthier than I was 50 lbs ago. better blood work, not as tired, sick less often etc. I guess it's possible it's a coincidence? And yes I think I can be healthier. The numbers can still be better than they are. Just like I can be happy or ecstatic (happier) angry or in a rage (angrier) sick witha cold, sick with influenza (sicker)
Oh, okay. I guess I didn't realize you were talking about yourself since you used "you" instead of "I". I assumed you meant in general.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
^ This is what I said. I didn't say "you" even once. This is my opinion.
I get that, and please don't answer if you think I'm being argumentative or pestering you (I seem to get that a lot on here![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
), but again I ask why?
Let me use myself as the example. I am overweight (BMI 26.7) but I'm healthy. I have been overweight for several years and have always been healthy. What makes you think I'd be healthier if I lost down to < 25 BMI? And healthier in what way?0 -
Endurance is an important part of quality tennis game, and that involves more than one trip along the court.darrensurrey wrote: »how long is a tennis court these days?
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Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Can you smoke and not develop lung cancer? Definately! But the risk is much higher, so why risk it? Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, so why risk it?
Does it really? The article seems to suggest that it's not always so.
What the article is stating is that as long as you are in good metabolic health you should be fine, and yes you could be overweight with a great metabolic health. But it also does state that the higher you slide on the BMI scale the higher your risk is of developing metabolic issues.
You could be overweight but active enough to counteract it, you could be overweight but lucky enough to have good genetics, you could be overweight by BMI but with a good fat distribution or a larger build, you could be overweight ever so slightly that you are actually at a good weight for you despite of what BMI says. Yes, all of these are possible. But if all things were equal (genetic predisposition, activity level, fat distribution.. etc) I believe a person who is within the normal range (not necessarily according to BMI) would be healthier than someone who has more extra weight.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
Why would you be? And, if you are healthy now, how? How can you be healthier than healthy?
I answered what I think. The reason I THINK this is because I KNOW I'm healthier than I was 50 lbs ago. better blood work, not as tired, sick less often etc. I guess it's possible it's a coincidence? And yes I think I can be healthier. The numbers can still be better than they are. Just like I can be happy or ecstatic (happier) angry or in a rage (angrier) sick witha cold, sick with influenza (sicker)
Oh, okay. I guess I didn't realize you were talking about yourself since you used "you" instead of "I". I assumed you meant in general.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
^ This is what I said. I didn't say "you" even once. This is my opinion.
I get that, and please don't answer if you think I'm being argumentative or pestering you (I seem to get that a lot on here ), but again I ask why?
Let me use myself as the example. I am overweight (BMI 26.7) but I'm healthy. I have been overweight for several years and have always been healthy. What makes you think I'd be healthier if I lost down to < 25 BMI? And healthier in what way?
See this is an individual question using an umbrella tool. We use BMI to judge who may be more at risk of developing certain negative heal conditions. Being in the overweight category puts you at risk of - becoming obese, developing diabetes (research shows) & developing osteoporosis. It doesn't mean you will, it just puts you in an 'At risk' catergory, at which point a HP will be able to look at your lifestyle and see if it needs changing, if it does not - then you are healthy well done, if there are changes that can be made to reduce your risk then yeah... you get the picture.
Oh and getting into the 25 or less category means you're sightly less likely to develop those issues (according to comparable data of lots of people) than you would be remaining at 26.7, but if you are not on a path to increasing your risk then this isn't really a problem at all.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Can you smoke and not develop lung cancer? Definately! But the risk is much higher, so why risk it? Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, so why risk it?
Does it really? The article seems to suggest that it's not always so.
What the article is stating is that as long as you are in good metabolic health you should be fine, and yes you could be overweight with a great metabolic health. But it also does state that the higher you slide on the BMI scale the higher your risk is of developing metabolic issues.
You could be overweight but active enough to counteract it, you could be overweight but lucky enough to have good genetics, you could be overweight by BMI but with a good fat distribution or a larger build, you could be overweight ever so slightly that you are actually at a good weight for you despite of what BMI says. Yes, all of these are possible. But if all things were equal (genetic predisposition, activity level, fat distribution.. etc) I believe a person who is within the normal range (not necessarily according to BMI) would be healthier than someone who has more extra weight.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
Why would you be? And, if you are healthy now, how? How can you be healthier than healthy?
I answered what I think. The reason I THINK this is because I KNOW I'm healthier than I was 50 lbs ago. better blood work, not as tired, sick less often etc. I guess it's possible it's a coincidence? And yes I think I can be healthier. The numbers can still be better than they are. Just like I can be happy or ecstatic (happier) angry or in a rage (angrier) sick witha cold, sick with influenza (sicker)
Oh, okay. I guess I didn't realize you were talking about yourself since you used "you" instead of "I". I assumed you meant in general.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
^ This is what I said. I didn't say "you" even once. This is my opinion.
I get that, and please don't answer if you think I'm being argumentative or pestering you (I seem to get that a lot on here ), but again I ask why?
Let me use myself as the example. I am overweight (BMI 26.7) but I'm healthy. I have been overweight for several years and have always been healthy. What makes you think I'd be healthier if I lost down to < 25 BMI? And healthier in what way?
You are inherently less at risk because you've maintained for years, the risk is more for those who don't have a handle on weight gain and will be moving into the obese category. Would losing weight to get to the arbitrary 'healthy' mark make you healthier? I don't know, if your doctor didn't seem bothered by your weight then she must not think it would matter a great deal.0 -
Endurance is an important part of quality tennis game, and that involves more than one trip along the court.darrensurrey wrote: »how long is a tennis court these days?
I can run around a tennis court for a couple of hours but no way I could run a 2 hour race. Different type of fitness.
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sheepotato wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »paulawatkins1974 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »Can you smoke and not develop lung cancer? Definately! But the risk is much higher, so why risk it? Being overweight increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes, so why risk it?
Does it really? The article seems to suggest that it's not always so.
What the article is stating is that as long as you are in good metabolic health you should be fine, and yes you could be overweight with a great metabolic health. But it also does state that the higher you slide on the BMI scale the higher your risk is of developing metabolic issues.
You could be overweight but active enough to counteract it, you could be overweight but lucky enough to have good genetics, you could be overweight by BMI but with a good fat distribution or a larger build, you could be overweight ever so slightly that you are actually at a good weight for you despite of what BMI says. Yes, all of these are possible. But if all things were equal (genetic predisposition, activity level, fat distribution.. etc) I believe a person who is within the normal range (not necessarily according to BMI) would be healthier than someone who has more extra weight.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
Why would you be? And, if you are healthy now, how? How can you be healthier than healthy?
I answered what I think. The reason I THINK this is because I KNOW I'm healthier than I was 50 lbs ago. better blood work, not as tired, sick less often etc. I guess it's possible it's a coincidence? And yes I think I can be healthier. The numbers can still be better than they are. Just like I can be happy or ecstatic (happier) angry or in a rage (angrier) sick witha cold, sick with influenza (sicker)
Oh, okay. I guess I didn't realize you were talking about yourself since you used "you" instead of "I". I assumed you meant in general.
I don't neccesarily agree that someone who is of a normal bmi is healthier than a different person who is overweight. I do think a person of a normal bmi would be healthier than themself overweight. ex, I may be overweight and healthier than a friend who is of normal weight. But I'd be healthier not overweight than I am right now.
^ This is what I said. I didn't say "you" even once. This is my opinion.
I get that, and please don't answer if you think I'm being argumentative or pestering you (I seem to get that a lot on here ), but again I ask why?
Let me use myself as the example. I am overweight (BMI 26.7) but I'm healthy. I have been overweight for several years and have always been healthy. What makes you think I'd be healthier if I lost down to < 25 BMI? And healthier in what way?
You are inherently less at risk because you've maintained for years, the risk is more for those who don't have a handle on weight gain and will be moving into the obese category. Would losing weight to get to the arbitrary 'healthy' mark make you healthier? I don't know, if your doctor didn't seem bothered by your weight then she must not think it would matter a great deal.
Precisely it depends on the trend, with a long term client who has recently moved into the overweight category from the 'healthy' category there is a significant concern; for an overweight person who has moved into the category from obese there is less concern. BMI allows us to see if changes can be made to reduce weight related risks, or to help identify an underlying issue (ED or metabolic) in the UK atm we are running through talking to people about their weight & possible issues if there are any concerns there even if the individual has not vocalised any concerns themselves, it's all about reducing risk & prevention.0 -
sheepotato wrote: »
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
lol, yup.
That's a lot of meat right there.0 -
sheepotato wrote: »
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
lol, yup.
That's a lot of meat right there.
I wouldn't tell any stranger that they were unhealthy. But you can't tell health by a picture. That one dude on the left looks like he could be overly fat as well as overweight.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »sheepotato wrote: »
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
lol, yup.
That's a lot of meat right there.
I wouldn't tell any stranger that they were unhealthy. But you can't tell health by a picture. That one dude on the left looks like he could be overly fat as well as overweight.
Maybe that's why he only took 2nd place.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »sheepotato wrote: »
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
lol, yup.
That's a lot of meat right there.
I wouldn't tell any stranger that they were unhealthy. But you can't tell health by a picture. That one dude on the left looks like he could be overly fat as well as overweight.
I wouldn't call anyone unhealthy to their face and it seems that I really need to work on my phrasing. Those three men are winners of the 'World's Strongest Man' competition. While they look unhealthy, I'm sure they take really good care of themselves. I've seen a lot of men at gyms that lift heavy that look 'fat' like that. Who knows if they are healthy and bulking or overweight and working out on their path to getting back into shape.
I think the 'up or down' part of the puzzle is important.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
In general, most of them haven't gotten the memo on bf%.
i get that. It says they're obese when they aren't. They have a beef there.sheepotato wrote: »
Important for what?That's the issue, at best we could do stratified sampling, but we'd have to pre-qual data, because bf% is still wholly unknown as an important parameter to most medical professionals.
Or, as a possibly unrelated question...What do you think they don't know?
(Asking, not baiting.)
BF% seems to be people's biggest gripe with the 'one size fits all' BMI scale, athletic people are always 'unhealthy' on it.
I'm wondering what dbmata thinks the doctors don't know...or in what way additional knowledge would help. I just don't understand the point, I think.
My doctor is solid, but he's got a sports medicine focus. Other doctors actually use the BMI chart to give advice. That's up there with killing a rooster and reading its intestines.
I wonder how true this is on an individual basis. I know insurance companies use it, and doctors giving general advice to populations, but how many doctors would really ask a person that was overweight but fit and healthy to lose weight simply to get in their BMI down? I doubt anyone here really has an answer to that, but I doubt it would be many.
If the BMI is high but the person is not fit and healthy, that would be a different story.
My doctor uses it, but not only it. I last went when I was about BMI 26, and she said that I was technically over the ideal weight but given the small amount and how fit I seemed she didn't think it was anything to worry about. (I told her I was actually working on losing weight so she asked me how much and what I was doing--I said 120s and that I was using MFP and she knew about it and liked it.) She also asked me (though very generally) about eating and exercise (I'd just done a half marathon). She did not seem to think that I should turn over my diet choices to a doctor or nutritionist, which I always find such a weird thing when people suggest that's something we need medical guidance on, assuming we are regularly healthy.
Even my insurance company in their fitness evaluation give you risk factors (assuming no problematic blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc.) only for BMI of 30 or over OR 25-29 plus waist measurement more than half your height.0 -
sheepotato wrote: »
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
I would say that most of those guys are unhealthy. In fact most elite athletes - especially endurance athletes are unhealthy.
I think a lot of people on this site mistake fitness for health. Like everything there is a balance.
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tennisdude2004 wrote: »sheepotato wrote: »
Well, because I can go to the free weight section of my gym, or I can go to a local bb gym and find plenty of legitimately healthy overweight people.
Don't assume I'm confused by such simple terms. lol. It takes a legitimate $5 word to get me working.
Well, now I am confused. No matter. Carry on.
They might not all be fit though. Some of the overweight fit ones might not be healthy, as well.
It's all craycray
Some of those crazy heavy lifters must have really high BMI's.
I'm not going to tell a single one of them they are unhealthy.
I would say that most of those guys are unhealthy. In fact most elite athletes - especially endurance athletes are unhealthy.
I think a lot of people on this site mistake fitness for health. Like everything there is a balance.
But would you say that to their face? Because, you know...big.
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This discussion has been closed.
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