Fat & Fit at the Same Time?

by Peg Jordan, RN

Q. I just read an article about "being fat and being fit at the same time." It says as long as your heart, blood sugar and blood pressure are normal, you don't need to lose weight -- that being overweight according to the definition isn't the reason for all the weight-related diseases, and being physically inactive is. Do you agree with this theory? Is there some related study that supports this? -- F.S.

Peg Jordan, RN answers:

You are well read, girlfriend! The great weight debate has been raging for 10 years now, but most people are unaware of it. It remains a professional battle among nutritionists, obesity experts, exercise physiologists and epidemiologists -- and of course, the weight-loss industry, which has much to gain from convincing people they're fat.

I've been a bigmouth in the debate for some time ... ever since I interviewed Lynne Cox, a marathon swimmer who has a body fat of 34 percent. She's a supreme endurance athlete, a real champion, and incredibly fit under that layer of fat that most doctors would consider borderline obese. But she's healthy and strong and could swim rings around most obesity experts.

The best research is compiled in a book called Big Fat Lies: The Truth About Your Weight and Your Health, by Glenn Gaesser. He and Steven Blair at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas looked at all the research in the past 20 years on this subject of weight and fitness. They found that the key factor for your health and longevity is whether you're sedentary -- not what you weigh.

Here's what we know for sure: If a naturally thin person does NOT exercise, he or she has a poor health outlook. If an overweight person does exercise, he or she has a much better profile for health and longevity than the sedentary thin person.

If you've had a sudden weight gain, try your best to drop a few pounds. But if you've always carried more weight on you since you were young, and you are customarily in good health, don't obsess about your weight. Focus on getting regular exercise. Your weight will stabilize and you will be doing so much more for your health, and life will be immensely more enjoyable.


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