Overweight and healthy? It’s possible, say experts
Obesity has been linked to a seemingly endless array of negative health consequences (heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, and the like) but you might want to think twice before you judge a person’s health by their weight, says another new study reported on the NYTimes Well blog this week.
Indeed, there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting that many of our attitudes about health and weight are misguided. While excess weight clearly is a risk factor for poor health, it doesn’t appear to be the most important issue. About half of overweight people and one-third of obese people have normal “good” cholesterol, blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors. And several studies show physical activity is a far more important predictor of health than body size is.
This isn’t any free pass to eat tons of saturated fat or give up your gym pass, of course. If anything, it should be a wake-up call inactive people of all weights—including those that are slender. For help evaluating or re-envisioning your fitness routine (are you doing enough?), check out our latest guide to fitness, “Get Fit Now,” for expert tips.
Related Topics: beauty and body, Health, From the Editors
August 27th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
THANKS FOR GIVING ME A CHANCE TO SPEAK TO THIS ISSUE. I AM 73 YEARS OLD, AND IT HAS BEEN MY OBSERVATION THAT MOST PEOPLE I KNOW THAT HAVE DIABETES ARE SLIM. THIS IS THE CASE WITH AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE. I HAVE 1 OVERWEIGHT FRIEND THAT HAS DIABETES. I MYSELF HAVE GOOD CHOLESTEROL, AND GOOD BLOOD PRESSURE, I AM NOT A EXECERIZE FREAK, BUT I DO EXCERCISE. I CAN’T WALK VERY WELL BECAUSE OF AN INJURY, BUT IT DRIVES THE DOCTORS WILD THAT THEY CAN’T TELL ME TO LOSE WEIGHT, OR ETC ETC. I LOVE IT. THIS WHOLE THING IS A HOAKES THANKS FOR LETTING ME GET THIS OFF MY CHEST. IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING.