No matter what you weigh, the higher percentage of body fat you have, the more likely you are to develop obesity-related diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
In fairness, when we’ve all been told for generations that thin is healthy and fat is unhealthy, even by our doctors, it’s understandable that people think this way. But this “worry” about another person’s health is often more about fatphobia than actual concern. So what’s the deal? Can you actually be healthy at a higher weight?
Being Overweight Doesn’t Mean You’re Unhealthy! ©1996-2021 MedicineNet, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use. MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information. The results of a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine should not come as a shock to most people.
Fat people are constantly blamed for being fat; the blame often falls on their choices, conveniently ignoring compelling biological and environmental factors that affect a person’s health and lifestyle. Food intake and activity are only a small part of why someone might be obese.
What is the chance of having high cholesterol?
People who are overweight have a fifty-fifty chance of having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or elevated blood sugar levels. Pretty good odds, but not as good as those for people who are within the normal weight range. They have a 75% chance of having normal results on blood tests for cholesterol and blood sugar.
There aren’t many risk factors for heart disease and stroke, the big killers in the United States. Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and family history are the factors that decide who will develop atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries).
Weight loss clinics, gyms and fitness centers, liposuction, and gastric bypass surgeries all were based at least partly on the presumption that being overweight equaled being at risk for heart disease and diabetes. The studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that there may be more to health than meets the eye.
Professional basketball players tend to have elevated BMI scores, but they carry significant muscle and little fat on their frames. Football players tend to be big, but their physical activity and training decreases their heart and stroke risk factors. The bottom line remains the same.
Being overweight doesn’t necessarily make you unhealthy, according to researchers in both the United States and Germany. Sports fans have known this forever; elite athletes can have an appearance ranging from tiny Olympic gymnasts to massive NFL linemen. Athletes at both extremes- and all those in between- are in shape and trained to perform …
What is the best fat to eat for heart disease?
These foods include fatty fish such as salmon, trout, sardines; ground flax seed, walnuts, canola oil, and wheat germ.
Food products that claim “Trans Fat Free” or “Zero Trans Fat,” actually contain 0.2 grams of trans fat or less per serving, which means it may still contain a trace amount of trans fat. Use the Nutrition Facts Table and Ingredients List to help you pick products that don’t have any trans fat.
Make heart-healthy dishes with a small amount of plant-based cooking oil and heart healthy cooking methods such as grilling, stir-frying, baking, and roasting . Keep in mind that the amount of cooking oil you use is more important than the type of oil.
Saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol and triglycerides, a type of blood fat in your body. Elevated levels of both of these in your blood can increase your risk for heart disease. Saturated fat is found in meat and dairy products, as well as tropical oils like palm oil and coconut oil.
Trans fats are even worse for your body than saturated fat because they raise LDL (“lousy”) cholesterol and lower HDL (“healthy”) cholesterol, increasing your risk for heart disease. They are formed during a process called hydrogenation when a liquid oil is “transformed” into a solid fat. Foods that contain trans fats include hard margarine, shortening, fast foods, and products made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
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