"Fat and fit" as healthy as being normal weight
BerryH
Posts: 4,698 Member
From the BBC News today:
People can be fat yet fit, research suggests
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.
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."
This is me! Even when I was obese, because I ran, swam and went to the gym, had a resting heart rate of 52 and blood pressure of 111/70. More proof, were it needed, that the best thing you can do for your heath is get off the sofa. I'm still overweight, but aiming to shed the rest of that middle-body fat, get to a healthy weight and achieve my fitness goals.
People can be fat yet fit, research suggests
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.
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."
This is me! Even when I was obese, because I ran, swam and went to the gym, had a resting heart rate of 52 and blood pressure of 111/70. More proof, were it needed, that the best thing you can do for your heath is get off the sofa. I'm still overweight, but aiming to shed the rest of that middle-body fat, get to a healthy weight and achieve my fitness goals.
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Replies
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That's really interesting, thank you for sharing
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Sorry BBC but in the USA I use the Body Mass Index and my goal is to be fit and trim.
Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
No one should settle for being overweight no matter how active they are.0 -
I agree i am still overweight but not for long now i have discovered MFP .... have normal everything and resting heartrate of around 57 to 60. No excuse to be fit 0
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Yes, I agree as well. My Doctor has told me that I'm perfectly healthy- have good blood pressure, good blood sugar levels and low cholesterol, even though I'm overweight. Yes, I would like to be fitter and lose some weight but I am happy to know that I am healthy. Especially as there are a lot of medical problems in my family.0
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Interesting read! Thanks for posting!0
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Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
No it isn't. You can have a low body fat and be unhealthy and unfit in many other aspects.0 -
Thanks, Berry, haven't we been saying this for years - rugby players being a typical example, lots of them have BMIs saying they're obese, but they are incredibly fit!0
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I can believe it. That was absolutely me until I stopped dancing 0
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Sorry BBC but in the USA I use the Body Mass Index and my goal is to be fit and trim.
Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
No one should settle for being overweight no matter how active they are.
BMI is practically useless when applied to individuals (most bodybuilders would be considered obese by BMI) and body fat is only an indicator of health (I think any Auschwitz survivor would attest to that......) and there are plenty of very lean people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc.
Would I like to be leaner? Yes but I don't obsess over it. Personally I think the ability to complete a half marathon or metric century or any other type of endurance event is a far better indicator of fitness and health than low body fat.0 -
Sorry BBC but in the USA I use the Body Mass Index and my goal is to be fit and trim.
Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
No one should settle for being overweight no matter how active they are.
BMI would tell some athletes they are overweight or obese, even if they have a lower body fat %. Make your mind up which measurement is the true measure of health and fitness!
if no-one should settle for being overweight, then a hell of a lot of athletes need to quit exercising and building muscle and go on a diet to lose all their muscle mass so they fit nicely in the BMI boxes!
And you know what if someone is a bit overweight, but fit and healthy (ie no heart problems, high blood pressure or cholesterol) and they are happy with the way they look, then why should they not settle for being happy the way they are? We don't HAVE to all conform to the way the media and society tells us we "should" look. But we do have a responsibility to keep ourselves as healthy as we can be, and I agree that we should want to do that for ourselves, our families, and so we do not drain the health services unnecessarily.0 -
Sorry BBC but in the USA I use the Body Mass Index and my goal is to be fit and trim.
Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
No one should settle for being overweight no matter how active they are.
BMI would tell some athletes they are overweight or obese, even if they have a lower body fat %. Make your mind up which measurement is the true measure of health and fitness!
if no-one should settle for being overweight, then a hell of a lot of athletes need to quit exercising and building muscle and go on a diet to lose all their muscle mass so they fit nicely in the BMI boxes!
And you know what if someone is a bit overweight, but fit and healthy (ie no heart problems, high blood pressure or cholesterol) and they are happy with the way they look, then why should they not settle for being happy the way they are? We don't HAVE to all conform to the way the media and society tells us we "should" look. But we do have a responsibility to keep ourselves as healthy as we can be, and I agree that we should want to do that for ourselves, our families, and so we do not drain the health services unnecessarily.
I can't agree with this more. If you're healthy by all of these standards than losing weight is really only for vanity reasons!
That's the case with me!0 -
I was about to share the same article. It supports what a lot of people have been saying for years.0
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It's worth pointing out the paragraph about abdominal fat being a serious risk factor that needs to be addressed above the number on the scale. This is why a healthy waist measurement is one of my goals.
Don't forget that fit means "fit for purpose". Although my indicators for health are at good levels, if I had a greater muscle to fat ratio I'd be stronger and less prone to injury, and if my BMI were in the healthy range I'd be able to run faster and walk up more flights of stairs without getting out of breath.
We all have some wiggle room for improvement :flowerforyou:0 -
BMI is not used by the article. (And while I agree it's not useful on a person-by-person basis, with the examples of bodybuilders and athletes mentioned above, not many people end up being athletes or bodybuilders and NOT KNOWING IT -- i.e. BMI can be a tool for screening a population that really doesn't know whether it's in "okay shape/size" or not. I think there was also some evidence that waist circumference is as good if not better.)
Anyway - the article is available at http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/08/27/eurheartj.ehs174.abstract but I can't get the full text from home.
The abstract says:
Aims: Current knowledge on the prognosis of metabolically healthy but obese phenotype is limited due to the exclusive use of the body mass index to define obesity and the lack of information on cardiorespiratory fitness. We aimed to test the following hypotheses: (i) metabolically healthy but obese individuals have a higher fitness level than their metabolically abnormal and obese peers; (ii) after accounting for fitness, metabolically healthy but obese phenotype is a benign condition, in terms of cardiovascular disease and mortality.
Methods and results: Fitness was assessed by a maximal exercise test on a treadmill and body fat per cent (BF%) by hydrostatic weighing or skinfolds (obesity = BF% ≥25 or ≥30%, men or women, respectively) in 43265 adults (24.3% women). Metabolically healthy was considered if meeting 0 or 1 of the criteria for metabolic syndrome. Metabolically healthy but obese participants (46% of the obese subsample) had a better fitness than metabolically abnormal obese participants (P < 0.001). When adjusting for fitness and other confounders, metabolically healthy but obese individuals had lower risk (30–50%, estimated by hazard ratios) of all-cause mortality, non-fatal and fatal cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality than their metabolically unhealthy obese peers; while no significant differences were observed between metabolically healthy but obese and metabolically healthy normal-fat participants.
Conclusions: (i) Higher fitness should be considered a characteristic of metabolically healthy but obese phenotype. (ii) Once fitness is accounted for, the metabolically healthy but obese phenotype is a benign condition, with a better prognosis for mortality and morbidity than metabolically abnormal obese individuals.0 -
In this article, she linked to another one. I appreciate this one a lot too!
http://www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com/2012/01/research-women-are-supposed-to-be-fat-the-flat-abs-myth.html0 -
How long was this test for? Sure you can be overweight/obese and have good cholestoral, bp etc., however how long can your body stay healthy while being obese? Does this study address the long term affects extra weight on your body can cause? For example exercising, though healthy, does put extra stress on your body and by being overweight/obese there is unneeded extra stress put on the joints and muscles of the body which can cause major irreversable damage.0
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The comment by "Amy Thompson, of the British Heart Foundation," saying, "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. "
doesn't seem to have ANY relation to the content of the research article (at least what the authors put in the abstract) which, as far as I can tell, wasn't looking at where the fat was stored or metabolic activity of fat stores in different parts of the body.
It sounds like she's just trying to sell her own message (which may well be correct, but that's not the point) on the back of an unrelated research article.
I'll try to get the full text PDF later today.0 -
In this study, what measure did they use to determine obesity? Body fat percentage or BMI? If they used BMI then some of these metabolically fit obese people may not actually have been obese according to their body fat percentage. I'd like to see the actual journal article of this study so I can get the answer to this question. I wouldn't be surprised if someone could have a body fat percentage in the low end of the obese range while being physically fit and metabolically healthy, but you can't tell if this is really the case unless you're actually measuring body fat percentage, and are not actually studying people with a lot of muscle and body fat percentages in the healthy range.0
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In this study, what measure did they use to determine obesity? Body fat percentage or BMI? If they used BMI then some of these metabolically fit obese people may not actually have been obese according to their body fat percentage. I'd like to see the actual journal article of this study so I can get the answer to this question. I wouldn't be surprised if someone could have a body fat percentage in the low end of the obese range while being physically fit and metabolically healthy, but you can't tell if this is really the case unless you're actually measuring body fat percentage, and are not actually studying people with a lot of muscle and body fat percentages in the healthy range.
I've posted the abstract with methods of measuring, and the link to the original article, a few posts above.0 -
A study that shows that 50% of these obese did not suffer from conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure, and that they were generally fitter and exercised more than the other obese people.
Great.
Take home message:This research highlights once again the important role of physical fitness as a health marker.
Be active, don't get caught up with the weight. It's about being healthy and fit.
Nothing there is new. However 50% of the obese DID suffer from those diseases and in general obesity does remain a major risk factor of disease.
I think I'll focus on losing the tire around my middle. Thanks.
I've alwyas been active, but I know I can be fitter.0 -
There is no good reason to be fat, whether you're still healthy or not. Do your body and your bones/joints a favour and continue to lose the weight! I can't help but feel that these articles just give people with too many excuses one more excuse.0
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My brother is an amateur body builder and considered morbidly obese according to BMI, however he is completely ripped and under 13% body fat. BMI is completely irrelevant in some cases. But fat is most definately not fit, don't go fishing to validate laziness or bad decissions.0
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Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
Rubbish!
I have just cycled 40 miles in 3.5 hours and I have a BMI in the obese range.
I have low blood pressure, low cholesterol and yet according to you Im unhealthy and unfit.
Might want to think about your comments there, Mr Motivation.0 -
I went from being able to run 2 minutes to almost 10 straight in just two weeks and my good friend thinks I'm a heart attack waiting to happen. Lol...I've never felt better! Running ain't just for the skinny things buddy!0
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**Not using this article as justification to stay heavy though!0
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Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
Rubbish!
I have just cycled 40 miles in 3.5 hours and I have a BMI in the obese range.
I have low blood pressure, low cholesterol and yet according to you Im unhealthy and unfit.
Might want to think about your comments there, Mr Motivation.
I think person is talking about bodyfat percent not bmi.0 -
I've always found it interesting that I get sick far less frequently, and generally return to health faster, than many of my thinner, but less active, friends, and have always had much better metabolic stats than the majority, despite being heavier. Thanks for posting, both OP and the person who posted the abstract - a most interesting study that confirms what I, and many non-establishment medical scientists have suspected for years.0
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Athletes have MUSCLE & not fat fat so there is where their BMI is showing as overweight. They are NOT however because it is MUSCLE & not FAT. Sorry but there is a difference. Being overweight or obese WILL put you at risk for Diabetes. Sorry but it's true.
I'd rather be fit & trim than fat & fat. There is no other way to put it, you can NOT be fat & healthy. Been there, it killed my back to the point I'll be lucky to work again. Put that in your fit & fat pipe. FAT caused more problems than you can dream.0 -
Bodyfat is a true measure of health and fitness!!!
It's one measure but not the only one - plenty of skinny cancer sufferers out there.0 -
My emphasis.I've always found it interesting that I get sick far less frequently, and generally return to health faster, than many of my thinner, but less active, friends, and have always had much better metabolic stats than the majority, despite being heavier. Thanks for posting, both OP and the person who posted the abstract - a most interesting study that confirms what I, and many non-establishment medical scientists have suspected for years.
I think a lot of it is because of being heavier. I put far more stress on my cardiovasular system doing the same 5K run at the same speed as a slimmer individual, resulting in a stronger heart and lungs, lower resting heart rate and lower blood pressure.
It's the equivalent of "lifting heavy" for cardio!0
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