Do you think someone can be obese and healthy?

xxmarysmxx

To me this question is a slippery slope, but I will bite! No, I do not. On the flip side, I do not think that just because someone is thin, they are healthy either. I say this because although there are plenty of obese people (myself included) who have PERFECT lab work ups (great cholesterol levels, normal triglycerides, etc),but they are still not at an optimal state of homeostasis due to the fact that body fat is stored at a surplus. Not having homeostatis=out of whack=eventual health problems. Sure, my cholesterol is fine now, but if I don't drop this weight, what will it be 5 years from now? There are also other factors to consider outside of diabetes and blood pressure...such as, irritation and inflammation of the joints and muscle tissues. To me, health equals a body doing what it is supposed to do...and storing excess fat (imo) is not one of them!

Agree!

bago08

This was an interesting discussion. Thanks for bringing it up.

MinnieInMaine

I'll bite...and base on my own personal history and stats.

Female, 5'7", currently about 170 lbs, highest weight was 260 lbs about 4 years ago. I had been obese for about 18 years prior to that - started gaining weight during my senior year of high school, tried several diets, some semi-successful but I never got below 190 all those years.

Body fat percent when last measured was 33.2%. Depending on your info source, I'm either right on the edge of normal/obese or just slightly into the obese category. http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ideal-body-fat-percentage-chart/

According to BMI, I'm just barely overweight - currently 26.6, "normal" goes as high as 24.9.

When I was around 200 pounds, for the most part I felt ok. My cholesterol was borderline high but we chalked that up to family history of heart disease and not so great diet. I was fairly active, helping my husband do things like haul wood and we were active with some hiking and kayaking. However, when I was 260 and creeping up to that point, I'll be honest and say I really felt it. My cholesterol was getting higher, my blood pressure was getting higher and I got sick a lot more often than I do now. We weren't kayaking anymore but hauling wood was much harder work. I could barely clean the house without having to take mutliple breaks.

In fact, one thing that finally got me thinking about losing weight once and for all was going to Boston for the weekend with my besties and realizing I couldn't keep up with them anymore. I wasn't just the chubby girl anymore, I was seriously obese and really starting to pay the price for letting myself get there.

I guess what I'm saying is that I think it depends on just how obese you are and what your lifestyle is. If you eat fairly well but just too much and are active but not active enough, you'll probably be mostly healthy but not as healthy as you could be. If you sit on the couch all day eating cheetos and drinking soda, you're probably not that healthy at all

rjpittner

It may have been stated in a post elsewhere in this topic, but I didn't feel like skimming through all of them prior to putting my two cents in. I believe that no, you cannot stay obese (as based on %BF) and maintain a healthy body. Anatomically speaking, our bodies aren't built for it. A few very basic examples: In men, extra fat tends to be stored around the abdomen, leading to denser vascularization, meaning your heart has to work harder to meet the nutritional demands of the enlarged abdominal area via the blood supply. This typically leads to hypertension. Another example is with arteries in general. Obesity leads to clogging of the arteries by buildup of fatty plaques, again, forcing the heart to work harder to perform its duty and leading to hypertension. Lastly, our joints. Certainly, they will do their best to hold excess weight, but eventually, it will lead to problems due to increased stress. Average weight individuals frequently experience problems with the knees as they increase in age, so imagine what doubling or even tripling the stress on them will lead to.

While you can be leading a healthy lifestyle while obese (i.e. trying to lose weight by eating correctly and exercising regularly), I believe that the health risks involved in simply being obese do not allow an obese individual who chooses to endorse an obesity enabling lifestyle as healthy.

*I'd also like to add that obesity predisposes you to many, many medical conditions that are more often than not completely preventable.

Just my opinions.

Grumbers

I started at 50lbs over the top of my BMI healthy range (top end).

Now I'd say I look/looked overweight, but not "obese".

I run 10km's, I play soccer twice a week, I go to the gym twice a week, over the summer I regularly do 100km rides, so I'm quite "fit".

Healthy however is a different question, I have a good resting heart rate, but you'd have to assume that being overweight, I'm more at risk to certain illness, especially diabetes with an often spiked influx of sugars and fats.

According to BMI I was Obese, I think if you asked 99% of people in the street, they'd say I could lose a bit of weight, but wouldn't fall anywhere near the usual perception of what "Obese" is.

Also to add, physically, I'm not average, I'm incredibly large framed and 6ft 5 tall, so always going to be "heavier" than most.

Cheers

EdTheGinge

Yes I could weight say 13st which would class me as obese but have a body fat % of 4%, so about 0.5st is fat, is that obese ?

Flab2fitfi

According to both my BMI and body fa t% I'm obese but AT THE MOMENT I'm healthy. I work out six days a week and eat well.

I've recently had my bloods done and all my levels are very good and even have low blood pressure. However I'm not naive to believe that this will last into the future.

As a person who enjoys looking into stats etc i know there are factors that make a person obese and also have a long term affect on their health. A high fat diet causes both weight gain and damage to organs and circulatory systems. How often are the factors causing weight gain also causing unhealthiness? If you have someone who eats a very healthy diet but just too much of it they are likely to gain weight but less likely to have problems caused directly from their diet. If studies are carried out on 100 people who are obese and 90% of them have a bad diet is it possible to tell what damage is done by being overweight and what is done by poor diet? I dont know the stats nut I guess someone who is of a good weight but eats a very high fat diet with little exercise has more chance of having a heart attack then someone who is obese but eats a low fat diet and exercises regularly.

I'm not saying the answer is yes or no but the fact that it is a very complicated issue and YES I do believe being a 'healthy' weight is important for long term health otherwise I would not be on here.

sara_j_barnard

I read something recently regarding inflammation in the body. I think the point being made was that some people can be healthy while carrying a lot of extra weight but that this can be attributed to the lack of inflammation in their bodies. Another thing I read talked about the relationship between inflammation and heart disease. The doctor was arguing that it was actually inflammation that is so dangerous, rather than some of the other popularized indicators. For some, maybe most or all ? of us, wheat and other grains can cause inflammation in the body. And I know when I'm avoiding grains and focusing more on veg, some meat, and avoiding grains, I feel a whole lot better. I'm not saying there aren't other risks involved with being obese, but I thought it was interesting.

happieharpie

I totally agree with both the inflammation and living on borrowed time concepts.

adriennewx

i think it depends. going off my weight etc i am classed as 'obese' but when im back at the gym (just coming out of a christmas slump haha) i can be fitter than a lot of people. although i do like my food too much!! dammit.
i also think these categories can be so unrealistic. if i weighed what my 'ideal weight' is supposed to be, i would look ill!!

janicelo1971

no, being FAT or Obese or whatever is NOT healthy..clearly this is based upon the idea the person has a FAT or OBESE BMI...clearly there are people who are very muscular and per the charts they are overweight, however they are more muscle then anything....for this website-Obese should not be in the same category as healthy

WendyTerry420

Being potentially "at risk" for an illness does not mean you are unhealthy. Anyone could be at risk for a number of conditions by genetics alone. In fact, nearly everyone is potentially "at risk" for some type of illness in the future.

ElliottTN

So, skipping all other responses so you will have to forgive me if it has already said.

It was possible in the past but it is no longer possible now if you are an American.

If you are obese than you are not healthy.

In the dictionary, being healthy is the state of being free from illness or injury.

Late last year the AMA declared obesity a disease.

That said, since it is now a disease and the definition of healthy is being free of illness then by definition, you are not healthy.

You are an unhealthy fatty mc fat fat with two options:
A. Loose weight
B. Cross over the US border and be healthy again.

EDIT: According to BMI standards, I am likewise a fatty.