'Fitness And Fatness': Not All Obese People Have The Same Prognosis

The new look of healthy:



So?

People can be obese but metabolically healthy and fit, with no greater risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer than normal weight people, according to the largest study ever to have investigated this, which is published online...in the European Heart Journal.

The findings show there is a subset of obese people who are metabolically healthy - they don't suffer from conditions such as insulin resistance, diabetes and high cholesterol or blood pressure - and who have a higher level of fitness, as measured by how well the heart and lungs perform, than other obese people. Being obese does not seem to have a detrimental effect on their health, and doctors should bear this in mind when considering what, if any, interventions are required, say the researchers.

"It is well known that obesity is linked to a large number of chronic disease such as cardiovascular problems and cancer. However, there appears to be a sub-set of obese people who seem to be protected from obesity-related metabolic complications," said the first author of the study, Dr Francisco Ortega (PhD). "They may have greater cardio-respiratory fitness than other obese individuals, but, until now, it was not known the extent to which these metabolically healthy but obese people are at lower risk of diseases or premature death."

We will see.

In the meantime, it is still better not to be a porker.