Fat does not always mean Unhealthy

I am working hard to lose weight and get into better shape, but I found this article on a new study on obesity to be very encouraging. It has found that fat does not necessarily mean unhealthy, and that with regular exercise overweight people can be more healthy than thin people who do not exercise.

Last week a report in The Archives of Internal Medicine compared weight and cardiovascular risk factors among a representative sample of more than 5,400 adults. The data suggest that half of overweight people and one-third of obese people are “metabolically healthy.” That means that despite their excess pounds, many overweight and obese adults have healthy levels of “good” cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and other risks for heart disease.

At the same time, about one out of four slim people — those who fall into the “healthy” weight range — actually have at least two cardiovascular risk factors typically associated with obesity, the study showed.

This, of course, does not let anyone off the hook. If you are severely overweight because you never get up off the couch, you are still living an unhealthy lifestyle. But it offers hope for those who are trying to lose weight, but never able to get down to the size 0 pushed by madison avenue. Regular exercise alone may make the difference between dying young, and living to see your great-grandchildren.