Can you be fit and fat?’ is one of the most compelling questions that have popped up in recent years. Contrary to the traditional views of being slim and fit, considerable research has found out that it is just not necessary to be slim to be fit. Though the weight loss and weight gain factors depend considerably on eating right and exercising, genetics play a major role in your physical makeup including being obese. Your body mass index (BMI) is a measure of your weight in relation to  your height.  With considerable research, there has been found that increasing BMI has a strong relationship with diabetes, high blood pressure and even sleep apnea. It was originally believed that if you suffer from any of these, it is mainly due to your increasing weight. But new studies and research have contradictory results, your BMI does not take into account that muscles weight more than fat and it only takes in the factors of height and weight. Thus, the debate is on whether you can be fit and fat comes in.

Sporting individuals, trainers and even celebrities or maybe even you have higher muscle content with low body fat which completely goes against the BMI index. As the low fat is due to heavy physical exercise and not your genes, it is realistically possible to be overweight without being obese. Your bones and muscles can contribute to the weight but you may still be fit and fat.

This is why it is essential to get a proper measure for body fat when you are trying to lose weight or measure your body mass and feel that the over toned muscle weight is contributing to your weight.  You are considered to be in a healthy weight range for a woman when you have less that 23% fat and 18% for men’s body fat. If you’re fat in the body is low and yet you are considered in the overweight category, it might be the perfect sample of being fit and fat.

For many years, health care professionals and researchers have been bringing to attention that over 15% to 30% of American population is obese by clinical standards while the looming obesity is getting to be of epidemic proportions. Though most commonly people who are fat are considered to be healthy but not fit and this may be a misconception for some individuals. Other than that medical research and science has proven that there are numerous physical disadvantages of being fat.

Disadvantages of Being Fat

Having that extra weight around can be detrimental to the overall wellness of a person. However, whether you are fat and fit or just plain obese, extra weight can lead to a number of health issues such as:

  • High Blood Pressure

Having high blood pressure puts pressure on the heart leading to weakened heart muscles and arteries. The chronic hypertension is one of the leading causes of heart attacks.

  • Arthritis

The extra weight causes serious debilitating joint pain due to the pressure exerted on the bones and it can start at a young age.

  • Blount’s Disease

In the growing years, excess weight can put pressure on the bones leading to lower legs deformity.

  • Sleep Apnea

Many overweight adults and kids suffer from sleep apnea, a serious ailment where the person stops breathing for a few seconds, while asleep. It is due to the extra layers of fat that compresses on the airways or leads to obstructions.

  • Asthma

Overweight and obesity is directly connected with breathing disorders like   asthma making it difficult to lead a normal life.

  • High levels of Cholesterol

Most obese and overweight people tend to have higher levels of cholesterol and lipids due to unhealthy lifestyles and food habits. The high triglycerides, low HDL make a person at a high risk of heart attacks and strokes.

And if you are wondering whether the obesity needs to be highlighted as a leading issue of health, it is. Majority of the specialists and doctors stress on the links of obesity with a host of illnesses but some strata of nutritionists disagree.

According to these dietitians and nutritionists, it is possible to be fit and fat. They argue that it is not about being fat, but being healthy. They insist that there is no single way to be healthy and you may be fat due to a variety of reasons most importantly, genes play a major role but it is possible to still be called or termed as fit and healthy.

So if you are obese due to genetic reasons, but healthy otherwise, you may actually gel with the equation of being fit and fat.

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