Do you think someone can be obese and healthy?

I have been obese all my life, and by a doctor's definition, I am healthy. I have great cholestorol, great blood pressure, normal sugar levels, etc. The doctors were actually surprised to report how healthy I was. I am also only 22 years old. If I continue to be obese, chances are I am not going to stay anywhere near healthy when I get older. It's all very relative.

This. It's just a matter of time before your body just can't take it any more, as I learned the hard way.

It depends. How, exactly, are you defining "obese?"

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

According to the Oxford Dictionary definitions, obese means "grossly fat or overweight" or "very fat, in a way that is not healthy".

So going by the dictionary definition, no, someone cannot be both obese and healthy.

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 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.

If your body fat % is at 20%, you're far from obese.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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%...

You can do those things and still be unhealthy. I'm not talking about you specifically, I mean in general.

If your skeleton is carrying significantly more weight than it is designed for, it doesn't matter how much you can bench press, you're a medical accident waiting to happen. And we see this all the time with professional athletes in sports that accentuate asymmetric body development (i.e., American Football) - "healthy" for a few peak years and then decades of health problems as a direct consequence.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.