Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?

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Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    yeah, it would have to be solely data from things like DXA scans, which are not very wide spread.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    contingencyplan wrote: »
    Overweight is a medical designation used to describe anyone higher than the normal/healthy range on the BMI scale. There are people who, due to sheer lean mass, qualify as overweight based on that alone. These people, however, are few and far between. There are a ton of people who think they qualify here but really don't.

    Is it possible to be overweight from fat and still be healthy? It's possible for someone to be overweight yet not currently experience any health risks that can be measured by normal medical tools, but it does catch up with you after a while in terms of joint health because the bottom line is that carrying that extra weight from fat is hell on the joints. Bone density increases with muscle so as you build lean mass your bones become stronger, leading to stronger joints. Being heavier from fat carries no such benefit.

    Well, now that is interesting. Do you mean that having muscle increases bone density, or just that to get/keep muscle you usually must do something that would also benefit bone density?

    My guess is that to build enough muscle to be classified as overweight with a low bf% you're doing a lot of load bearing exercises, which help maintain bone density. My guess is what is causing the mass increase is also causing the high bone density not the muscle mass itself.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    algwynt wrote: »
    just because your overweigh does not mean your unhealthy but losing that weight will make you healthier.

    This +1

    There are more factors than BMI at play as thats just a rule of thumb.
    That said the less you weigh and closer you are to a healthier weight, then the chances you are going to suffer from the major diseases and conditions decrease all things being equal. Its a statistics game and I want to move from the higher risk groups into the one with the lower risks i.e a healthy BMI/ low bodyfat and all the other measurements.

    Nobody can guarantee you wont have a stoke, catch some disease, have a heart attack or develop diabetes, but extra fat puts a strain on your body.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    yeah, it would have to be solely data from things like DXA scans, which are not very wide spread.

    True. Your population would likely be mostly older women.
  • Vitaphobia
    Vitaphobia Posts: 21
    edited December 2014
    I don't have all information, but some people are big but healthy, one of my friends from Home Depot works with a woman who is 300lb she is tall and big boned, her BMI says she is obese for her height, but if she where to lose weight she would look anorexic. she is completely healthy and active
    some people have very heavy bones and or muscles which cant be calculated by the average BMI calculator. I know this is probably not what this person's post was about though.
  • ExtremePhobia
    ExtremePhobia Posts: 40
    edited December 2014
    Can you be mentally healthy and overweight? Sure! And in much the same way, aspects of your body can be in perfect health while others wither and die. In fact, being overweight likely fends off a disease or two. But being healthy DESPITE your weight is not the same as being healthy because of your weight.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Vitaphobia wrote: »
    I don't have all information, but some people are big but healthy, one of my friends from Home Depot works with a woman who is 300lb she is tall and big boned, her BMI says she is obese for her height, but if she where to lose weight she would look anorexic.
    some people have very heavy bones and or muscles which cant be calculated by the average BMI calculator. I know this is probably not what this person's post was about though.

    Seriously, a 300 lb woman that would look anorexic if she lost any weight? How tall is she?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    Vitaphobia wrote: »
    I don't have all information, but some people are big but healthy, one of my friends from Home Depot works with a woman who is 300lb she is tall and big boned, her BMI says she is obese for her height, but if she where to lose weight she would look anorexic. she is completely healthy and active
    some people have very heavy bones and or muscles which cant be calculated by the average BMI calculator. I know this is probably not what this person's post was about though.

    BS.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    auddii wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    contingencyplan wrote: »
    Overweight is a medical designation used to describe anyone higher than the normal/healthy range on the BMI scale. There are people who, due to sheer lean mass, qualify as overweight based on that alone. These people, however, are few and far between. There are a ton of people who think they qualify here but really don't.

    Is it possible to be overweight from fat and still be healthy? It's possible for someone to be overweight yet not currently experience any health risks that can be measured by normal medical tools, but it does catch up with you after a while in terms of joint health because the bottom line is that carrying that extra weight from fat is hell on the joints. Bone density increases with muscle so as you build lean mass your bones become stronger, leading to stronger joints. Being heavier from fat carries no such benefit.

    Well, now that is interesting. Do you mean that having muscle increases bone density, or just that to get/keep muscle you usually must do something that would also benefit bone density?

    My guess is that to build enough muscle to be classified as overweight with a low bf% you're doing a lot of load bearing exercises, which help maintain bone density. My guess is what is causing the mass increase is also causing the high bone density not the muscle mass itself.
    yes.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Vitaphobia wrote: »
    I don't have all information, but some people are big but healthy, one of my friends from Home Depot works with a woman who is 300lb she is tall and big boned, her BMI says she is obese for her height, but if she where to lose weight she would look anorexic. she is completely healthy and active
    some people have very heavy bones and or muscles which cant be calculated by the average BMI calculator. I know this is probably not what this person's post was about though.

    False.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    ExtremePhobia wrote: »
    Can you be mentally healthy and overweight? Sure! And in much the same way, aspects of your body can be in perfect health while others wither and die. In fact, being overweight likely fends off a disease or two. But being healthy DESPITE your weight is not the same as being healthy because of your weight.

    Huh?
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    ExtremePhobia wrote: »
    Can you be mentally healthy and overweight? Sure! And in much the same way, aspects of your body can be in perfect health while others wither and die. In fact, being overweight likely fends off a disease or two. But being healthy DESPITE your weight is not the same as being healthy because of your weight.

    Huh?

    da hell we just read?
  • RoseyDgirl
    RoseyDgirl Posts: 306 Member
    The fact of the matter is that in regards to insurance companies, as mentioned in the article, they can not tell from paperwork whether an overweight person is healthy or not. They only have numbers, and draw from statistics that most would be unhealthy if overweight (not exercising regularly) or maintaining a healthy diet.

    And while I would say I'm healthy now - I probably would have not said so, even half a year ago - because I hadn't been taking care of the exercise and eating healthily aspects of keeping healthy. Now though - even obese - I feel good, strong, and capable. I'm sure that I still have a lot more higher risks than those not obese - but, as my doctor and the recent blood work claim, I'm healthy.

    Fact is, that it's a steeper slope for us heavyset folk to climb to stay healthy. If you're starting out 'not-fit' - right there, we have a challenge to get fit without causing injury to ourselves. I don't think that skinny folks have half the worries about this as we do; that either we'll hurt our legs, feet, knees, heart ... by doing to much, to fast... (but I've never been skinny, so I may be wrong about what their worries are... )

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    dbmata wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    dbmata wrote: »
    Here's a far more interesting question.

    Can you carry a 10-15% greater fat load than mean for "Average" and be healthy?

    I think figuring the mean for average fat load would be very interesting indeed. What method would be used?

    Good question. If HIPPAA could be ignored, it would be rather easy to get stratified samples from different regions. Find the actual mean and deviations for the population for multiple classes based on age and I'd gather educational and economic data.

    Then from there, determine health potential per class, a health prediction model would be helpful there, but beyond my knowledge.

    Then after all that, and model validation. Placing someone in the right bucket and assigning a predictor value should be easy. You know, "easy".
    Hospitals still collect info. Nobody's name needs to be attached. Their names don't even matter, statisticswise. (I make up words. So sue me.)

    I don't like statistics. My teacher was boring and the world of stats is, IMO, not really a den of excitement in the first place, so I've always been very ho-hum about it. But they do collect data and it's used for all kinds of things. It's very good that there are people out there who do like it. :)
  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
    "Higher risk of certain medical conditions" is not the same as "unhealthy". We need to stop confusing the two.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Yes, within reason. Others have posted good reasons why not.

    Similar research has shown that as you age, it's also good not to be too thin. People of average weight or maybe 10 extra pounds may have increased longevity over underweight people. But activity and fitness are important nonetheless.
  • snackmophant
    snackmophant Posts: 4
    edited December 2014
    No. I don't believe so.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • snackmophant
    snackmophant Posts: 4
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Vitaphobia wrote: »
    I don't have all information, but some people are big but healthy, one of my friends from Home Depot works with a woman who is 300lb she is tall and big boned, her BMI says she is obese for her height, but if she where to lose weight she would look anorexic. she is completely healthy and active
    some people have very heavy bones and or muscles which cant be calculated by the average BMI calculator. I know this is probably not what this person's post was about though.

    Yea okay^^^^^ That's just a bunch of nonsene. Some random lady that is 300 lbs is pretty much always going to be considered morbidly obese and will need to lose weight.

    Lol, losing weight will make her look anorexic.

    Unless we found the world's tallest woman... lol.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Well, I know I couldn't, because 2 years at 198 lbs, and 10 years bouncing between 150 and 180, already did a number on my joints. I'd rather stay as light as I safely can.
  • snackmophant
    snackmophant Posts: 4
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Well, I know I couldn't, because 2 years at 198 lbs, and 10 years bouncing between 150 and 180, already did a number on my joints. I'd rather stay as light as I safely can.

    For sure. I was only a little overweight at 165 lbs (just a touch over 25 BMI) and it definitely had an impact on my joints and how much they ached from the extra weight. Now my knees feel fine.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    snackmophant wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Well, I know I couldn't, because 2 years at 198 lbs, and 10 years bouncing between 150 and 180, already did a number on my joints. I'd rather stay as light as I safely can.

    For sure. I was only a little overweight at 165 lbs (just a touch over 25 BMI) and it definitely had an impact on my joints and how much they ached from the extra weight. Now my knees feel fine.

    I'm over 50 and have weighed more than 165 lbs for many years, but I've never had any joint problems. Did you have any other conditions other than weight? Do you know what your BF% was when you were overweight?
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Glad your knees feel better!

    Re the original article - an extended lifespan is one thing, but the quality of those 'extra' years might not be amazing if you're dealing with the long-term effects of "lifestyle". I've seen older people who have severely limited mobility because of arthritis (can't leave the house), whose bodies are worn out by the effects of high blood pressure, diabetes etc (and the side effects of the various meds they have to take to keep going) - they're tired all the time, they just don't feel good.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Glad your knees feel better!

    Re the original article - an extended lifespan is one thing, but the quality of those 'extra' years might not be amazing if you're dealing with the long-term effects of "lifestyle". I've seen older people who have severely limited mobility because of arthritis (can't leave the house), whose bodies are worn out by the effects of high blood pressure, diabetes etc (and the side effects of the various meds they have to take to keep going) - they're tired all the time, they just don't feel good.

    You are not describing healthy people though. The article certainly doesn't suggest that being overweight will make you healthy, and isn't just about lifespan.
  • snackmophant
    snackmophant Posts: 4
    edited December 2014
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    snackmophant wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Well, I know I couldn't, because 2 years at 198 lbs, and 10 years bouncing between 150 and 180, already did a number on my joints. I'd rather stay as light as I safely can.

    For sure. I was only a little overweight at 165 lbs (just a touch over 25 BMI) and it definitely had an impact on my joints and how much they ached from the extra weight. Now my knees feel fine.

    I'm over 50 and have weighed more than 165 lbs for many years, but I've never had any joint problems. Did you have any other conditions other than weight? Do you know what your BF% was when you were overweight?

    Nope! No idea the BF%. I would just get more fatigued in my joints from the extra weight. I couldn't walk for a whole two hours straight like I can now.

    I decided to lose weight a few years ago seeing my dad's side of the family (overweight and diabetic) and realizing I was going in the same direction as them. I stopped blaming my fat on "genetics" and did something about it. I don't want diabetes.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    edited December 2014
    Here's a study on the BMI index charted against mortality.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25126085
    3l8lduuwz7dn.gif



  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    BigGuy47 wrote: »
    Here's a study on the BMI index charted against mortality.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25126085
    3l8lduuwz7dn.gif

    Is that a study? It didn't really say what it was they were studying or how or what their conclusion was.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    snackmophant wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    snackmophant wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Well, I know I couldn't, because 2 years at 198 lbs, and 10 years bouncing between 150 and 180, already did a number on my joints. I'd rather stay as light as I safely can.

    For sure. I was only a little overweight at 165 lbs (just a touch over 25 BMI) and it definitely had an impact on my joints and how much they ached from the extra weight. Now my knees feel fine.

    I'm over 50 and have weighed more than 165 lbs for many years, but I've never had any joint problems. Did you have any other conditions other than weight? Do you know what your BF% was when you were overweight?

    Nope! No idea the BF%. I would just get more fatigued in my joints from the extra weight. I couldn't walk for a whole two hours straight like I can now.

    Do you think if you had walked every day that you would not eventually be able to walk 2 hours without pain, even without weight loss? I guess there is no real way to know unless you lost weight without exercise and then tried the walk.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    BigGuy47 wrote: »
    Here's a study on the BMI index charted against mortality.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25126085
    3l8lduuwz7dn.gif

    Is that a study? It didn't really say what it was they were studying or how or what their conclusion was.

    It's a review article, a big clue is a single author. Further down in the abstract it says "this review".
  • lorbie49
    lorbie49 Posts: 38 Member
    I think you can be healthy for awhile. It will catch up to you though. It puts you at such a higher risk for so many things.
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