Do you think someone can be obese and healthy?

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  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    It depends. How, exactly, are you defining "obese?"

    Also, how, exactly, are you defining "healthy?"

    ^^^This.

    By definition (BMI), I'm obese.

    Same here. Technically obese....resting pulse of 48 (pre-pregnancy...i'm 23 weeks now), good cholesterol, normal to low blood pressure, awesome aerobic threshold and metabolic test results, normal sugar levels. It's totally possible....My husband is technically obese, also, and has raced two half iron mans, dozens of triathlons, marathons, mountain bike races (placing in his age group), all his medical results are normal and healthy. So, totally possible...

    If that is a recent picture of you and your husband, than neither of you appear to be obese..
    Technically 30 lbs over the top of your healthy range is considered Obese, but I would go by BF% for athletes such as yourselves.
    BTW- We live in North Texas, and my husband races both road and mountain bikes, so he has probably been in races with yours. Altho he is 45, so in a different age cat.

    Before joining MFP, I would have considered Obese to be at least 100 pounds overweight. I didn't know the official definitions until I started researching online about healthy weight ranges. Boy was I shocked!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I wanted to hear others general opinion on obesity and health, that's kind of why I left the question so open.

    Obesity is a specific measurement of body fat content. Anyone over 30% body fat is obese. Can someone be healthy and be obese? Sure, but they won't be for long. They are usually young and relying on genetics. You CANNOT under any circumstances be obese and be FIT.



    30% BF is actually my goal. I started at 54% and am now at 38%. :smile:


    http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/body-fat-percentage-men-women/
    Body Fat Percentage Women 30%

    While most men have fat funnel into their stomachs, as the body fat of most women (but certainly not all) increases, this fat tends to accumulate in the hips, buttocks, and thighs. At 30% body fat, the hips, thighs, and buttocks are more pronounced and round. This is considered the high end of average for women in many body fat charts.
  • BreeJaxon
    BreeJaxon Posts: 128
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    There is NO thinking or not thinking about that question, there is scientific proof that no you cannot be obese and healthy. You CAN be obese and on your way to being healthy though.
  • jennegan1
    jennegan1 Posts: 677 Member
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    in so I can read the responses later
  • 50_to_lose
    50_to_lose Posts: 28 Member
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    You can be medically classed as obese (weight) and be healthy.

    I went to a doctor with a back injury, after being pulled around he

    then weighed me and told me to lose weight as I was obese,

    about 25 lbs over top end of ideal weight.

    I laughed a lot and told him I can bench press 260 lbs run a mile

    in 6 minutes and have a BF less than 20% and limped out the room.

    The point is that weight, obesity is not a gauge of health, body fat,

    blood pressure etc are the true gauge for good health and I'm not

    sure if some doctors have caught up that fact yet.

    Body builders are generally classed as medically obese but I would

    not class a body builder as unhealthy.

    You're not medically classified as obese just because of weight. Anybody that says different is just wrong. 20% of body fat does not make you obese.

    A doctor will generally gauge obesity by height, weight BMI.

    Its not until you either

    Option A-remove clothing

    or

    Option B-explain your health regime

    Until you demonstrate one of the above options you are obese lol.
  • roanokejoe49
    roanokejoe49 Posts: 820 Member
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    Someone can fall into the BMI obese category, yet look fine. How about football and rugby players? A lot of them would be classes as obese, yet they are super fit, and follow healthy eating plans.

    I think it's definitely possible for someone obese to be healthier than a normal weight person, if they eat healthily, exercise, don't smoke and drink moderately. There are an awful lot of "normal" weight people out there who live on rubbish.

    Total misconception. Body Mass Index is a ROUGH ESTIMATE based on an average metric. It does not consider heavily muscled individuals. It is a method (not a very accurate one) for guestimating body fat percentage.

    It's a simple measurement, folks. Over 30% BODY FAT, you're obese. If you are a 300 lb body builder who has 6% body fat, you are NOT OBESE.
  • RECowgill
    RECowgill Posts: 881 Member
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    Yes absolutely a person can be obese and completely healthy. It's not common, but it's 100% possible.

    Look at sumo wrestlers for example. Strength athletes, completely heart, organ and blood healthy, and can live long lives. They train to eat a certain way and in some cases makes their bodies morbidly obese. Probably stronger than you, more athletic than you and will live longer than you. They just know how to put weight on and take it off in a structured way.

    Using fat to judge someone's health is like using a cover to judge a book. You could probably be right that many obese Americans and people generally have Health problems, but it's far from guaranteed.
  • birdiecs
    birdiecs Posts: 237 Member
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    I've worked in LTC as an RN for about 12yrs, what I see is obese patients in their 50's to early 60's needing constant care due to health issues like diabetes, heart attacks, strokes. The non obese patients with the same issues tend to be in their 70's and 80's. I rarely have obese patients of that age because most die before that. So you may be healthy in your youth early middle age and obese, meaning good blood pressure, labs etc, but in my experience obesity will eventually take it's toll on your body.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    I'm obese. And I'm healthy.

    My most recent bloodwork/physical shows stellar blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels - couldn't be more ideal. I have zero markers of any sort of disease. I have no joint or muscle issues caused by my weight. My immune system is hopping (I get sick exactly as often as you'd expect a full-time working mother of two snotty kids in daycare to get sick). Healthy as a horse.

    But.

    BUT.

    I am under no delusions that I will stay that way if I don't get the weight off. At 32 years old, I still have time on my side, but not for much longer. And that's why I'm here.

    So, in short, I do think it's possible to be obese and healthy. But, sooner or later, it's going to come down to one or the other.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    no
    studies say so

    Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

    it was all over the news just a couple of months ago. Not sure how you could've missed it.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/24/health/personal-health-fat-but-fit-a-myth-about-obesity-is-slowly-being-debunked.html
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Yes absolutely a person can be obese and completely healthy. It's not common, but it's 100% possible.

    Look at sumo wrestlers for example. Strength athletes, completely heart, organ and blood healthy, and can live long lives. They train to eat a certain way and in some cases makes their bodies morbidly obese. Probably stronger than you, more athletic than you and will live longer than you. They just know how to put weight on and take it off in a structured way.

    Where did you get this information? I've read that sumo wrestlers have a lower average lifespan than other Japanese males, mostly due to obesity related disease later in life.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    Can a body builder be "obese" on BMI chart? I know people with more muscle could be slightly "overweight" (myself) but not sure if they will reach to "obese"...
  • roanokejoe49
    roanokejoe49 Posts: 820 Member
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    Can a body builder be "obese" on BMI chart? I know people with more muscle could be slightly "overweight" (myself) but not sure if they will reach to "obese"...

    Bodybuilders (yourself included) are not CLOSE to 30% body fat, which is the measurement that defines obesity.
  • thatonegirlwiththestuff
    thatonegirlwiththestuff Posts: 1,171 Member
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    I know a few men who are tall with a good amount of muscle mass, who according to the BMI scale, are considered obese. So, yes.
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
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    I don't believe you can be obese and healthy...at least not in regular cases of obesity - this means not using BMI to categorize bodybuilders, athletes with healthy-low bf% as obese.

    A truly obese individual likely has a waist size larger than what is healthy. I am ten pounds overweight and my waist size isn't healthy which puts me at a huge increased risk for a plethora of diseases. I run marathons, I lift weights, I eat fairly healthy and all my numbers are good. I will not say that I'm healthy until my waist is a healhty size though. All the extra fat being stored around your abdomen is just a huge risk factor.

    In addition, obesity not only leads to further complications down the road, but without you necessarily feeling it or measuring it right away you are putting additional strain on your organs and your joints. Your knees, ankles, back etc are not meant to carry around additional weight. Your digestive system isn't meant to process 1000s of additional calories. Eventually the system will break down and you will see it in your numbers.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    Can a body builder be "obese" on BMI chart? I know people with more muscle could be slightly "overweight" (myself) but not sure if they will reach to "obese"...

    Bodybuilders (yourself included) are not CLOSE to 30% body fat, which is the measurement that defines obesity.
    hey, I am not a body builder but just happen to have a bit more muscle than my friends. :)

    I thought Obesity is measured primarily based on BMI, at least this is what I was told by my doctors here in US.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    It's a simple measurement, folks. Over 30% BODY FAT, you're obese. If you are a 300 lb body builder who has 6% body fat, you are NOT OBESE.

    If you're 6 foot and 300 pounds, you are not healthy no matter what your body fat percentage.

    IMO, etc.
  • roanokejoe49
    roanokejoe49 Posts: 820 Member
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    I know a few men who are tall with a good amount of muscle mass, who according to the BMI scale, are considered obese. So, yes.

    Actually, you don't know ANYONE who is considered obese based on their BMI index alone. BMI is a guestimate that does not consider lean muscle mass. Bodybuilders are overweight (again, a measurement based on a metric average), but they are NOT OBESE. BMI is a horrible measurement for people with lean muscle mass.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Can a body builder be "obese" on BMI chart? I know people with more muscle could be slightly "overweight" (myself) but not sure if they will reach to "obese"...

    Bodybuilders (yourself included) are not CLOSE to 30% body fat, which is the measurement that defines obesity.

    Another strange comment, yet spoken with such authority.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    It's a simple measurement, folks. Over 30% BODY FAT, you're obese. If you are a 300 lb body builder who has 6% body fat, you are NOT OBESE.

    If you're 6 foot and 300 pounds, you are not healthy no matter what your body fat percentage.

    I was wondering about this: how much muscle one can pack on with most extreme training and diet? Is it possible for a six foot tall body builder to pack on more than 150 pounds pure muscle?

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