Research suggests you can be fat but fit

simonlcube
simonlcube Posts: 73 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19474239

My reading of this is not that being fat is fine, but rather that exercise is worth doing, regardless of your size.

Article pasted below.
===

People can be obese yet physically healthy and fit and at no greater risk of heart disease or cancer than normal weight people, say researchers.

The key is being "metabolically fit", meaning no high blood pressure, cholesterol or raised blood sugar, and exercising, according to experts.

Looking at data from over 43,000 US people they found that being overweight per se did not pose a big health risk.

The results are published in the European Heart Journal.

In the study at the University of South Carolina, more than a third of the participants were obese.

Of these 18,500, half were assessed as metabolically healthy after a physical examination and lab tests.

This subset of metabolically healthy obese people who did not suffer from conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure, were generally fitter and exercised more than the other obese people.

And their risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer was identical to people of ideal weight and was half that of "metabolically less fit" obese people.

These studies remind us that it is not always your weight that's important, but where you carry fat and also how it affects your health and fitness”

Amy Thompson
British Heart Foundation
Lead researcher Dr Francisco Ortega, who currently works at the University of Granada in Spain, said the findings show that getting more exercise can keep you healthier, even if you still carry a bit of extra weight.

"This research highlights once again the important role of physical fitness as a health marker."

Most of the men and women in the study came from a similar background, meaning the results may not apply to everyone. They were mostly Caucasian, well educated, and worked in executive or professional positions.

Amy Thompson, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "In the majority of cases, obesity is an undeniable risk factor for developing coronary heart disease. However, these studies remind us that it is not always your weight that's important, but where you carry fat and also how it affects your health and fitness.

"It is particularly important to be aware of your weight if you are carrying excess fat around your middle. The fat cells here are really active, producing toxic substances that cause damage which can lead to heart disease.

"Maintaining a healthy diet with lots of physical activity can help to slim you down as well as reduce your risk of heart health problems.

"But don't get too caught up on the numbers on the scale. Calculating your body mass index and measuring your waist are great ways to keep on track. If you are concerned about your weight and want to make changes to your lifestyle, make an appointment with your GP to talk it through."

=

Replies

  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
    Every time I see my doc she tells me I am the fittest fat person she knows and she its very proud of how my health indicators are improving...


    Then she chuckles and tells me she couldn't do a quarter of what I do physically
  • bradphil87
    bradphil87 Posts: 617 Member
    I had no health issues at all when I was fat....that wasnt the problem. The problem were self esteem issues, lack of confidence, and feeling down about myself in general. In terms of medical I was fine, but my mental health was suffering from being fat.
  • angdan31
    angdan31 Posts: 95 Member
    I would imagine there are plenty of unhealthy skinny people out there too. I know plenty of skinny people with atrocious eating and exercise habits.
  • Ulfgard
    Ulfgard Posts: 49 Member
    Every time I see my doc she tells me I am the fittest fat person she knows and she its very proud of how my health indicators are improving...


    Then she chuckles and tells me she couldn't do a quarter of what I do physically

    Good for you! :drinker:

    I've always been relatively thin compared to my peers but my cholesterol, lipids and blood pressure have been terrible. I have to be constantly on guard, taking my omegas, watching my saturated fat, sugar and fiber intake, doing my cardio, keeping my weight in the lower half of healthy BMI, etc. just to keep my numbers in the normal/borderline range. Even if I'm at a healthy weight, the minute I stop exercising and watching what I eat, my numbers go bad. My doc says some people just end up with those bad genes. I think it's true the other way around, too. I'm sure there are a ton of overweight people with better numbers than me. :flowerforyou:

    ETA: Oops! I posted this on my husband's account by mistake. <-- That's not actually me!!!
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    I've lost close to 40kg. I have perfect blood tests, I have he resting heart rate of an athlete and can run/walk 12km, lift heavy weights and play state league softball. I am fit.

    But I am still 30kg overweight. I might be fitter than the person who is that weight and doesn't exercise but my goal is to be healthy, fit AND good looking.

    Being fit and obese/overweight is always preferable to being a 'healthy weight' and unfit. But being fit and a healthy weight is still better than being obese and fit.
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
    I don't agree with that study. Prior to my diet which I started in mid-June, my weight was at 330. I didn't have any health problems stemming from weight. No high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, no diabetes, no heart problems, no breathing problems, no edima, etc. But I was seriously out of shape and flabby. At 299 I still am, but its getting better every day. Just because I didn't have health problems YET didn't mean I wasn't on that path. At age 35 it probably wouldn't be long before it started to catch up with me. People who smoke don't get lung cancer from their first cigarette, it happens over time. Even if I was exercising as the study suggests, if I was consuming enough fats and calories that I was still fat, then it must mean I was taking in way too much. Certainly enough to clog arteries and affect cholestorol. And these points say nothing of the stress extra weight puts on your joints! It seems every week a new study comes out and some of them just don't make sense to me at all. (like eating 2 egg yolks a week has been shown to be as harmful as smoking. doubtful.)
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    I don't agree with that study. Prior to my diet which I started in mid-June, my weight was at 330. I didn't have any health problems stemming from weight. No high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, no diabetes, no heart problems, no breathing problems, no edima, etc. But I was seriously out of shape and flabby. At 299 I still am, but its getting better every day. Just because I didn't have health problems YET didn't mean I wasn't on that path. At age 35 it probably wouldn't be long before it started to catch up with me. People who smoke don't get lung cancer from their first cigarette, it happens over time. Even if I was exercising as the study suggests, if I was consuming enough fats and calories that I was still fat, then it must mean I was taking in way too much. Certainly enough to clog arteries and affect cholestorol. And these points say nothing of the stress extra weight puts on your joints! It seems every week a new study comes out and some of them just don't make sense to me at all. (like eating 2 egg yolks a week has been shown to be as harmful as smoking. doubtful.)

    You've not understood the study. If you have no health indicators AND partook in regular exercise you didn't have the issues that unfit obese people struggled with. You didn't exercise therefore were at higher risk.
  • texastango
    texastango Posts: 309
    The premise is actually true and has been known for several years. If you want to see a video of a lecture given to graduate students on this at UCLA then PM me and I'll send you the link.

    It's clear that if you are "FIT" and "Obese" that your general health risks for certain disease - like metabolic syndrome - are better than being even a skinny coach potato. That doesn't justify being obese because if your fit and have a lower BMI than your health situation improves for those diseases. Of course many will argue that BMI isn't the only measure of fitness - and I'd agree - but it's the one used by most studies so there you go. Percentage body fat or FFM (fat free mass) or FM are becoming popular measures as well.

    Not having enough FFM (Muscle) also presents health risks of a different sort. So losing weight - and FFM at the same time isn't always making you healthier. I know.....sometimes life's a beach!

    Improving body composition - converting FM to FFM (fat mass to fat-free mass) is easier to do than lose weight and make that transition at the same time. For the same volume of fat - muscle is heavier. Restrict your calories enough to lose significant weight and building muscle at the same time becomes a chemistry experiment with your body in the process of finding that perfect balance.

    So the information in your article has been confirmed many times. Yes, "FIT" people of all sizes rejoice. You're better off than non-fit people of any size. I'll leave it there to end on a positive note!

Categories