Can you be fat and healthy.

[eliza61]

Wow. I promise I'm not lying.

We're talking "generalities" HG. There are diffently a lot more issues to a good health.

I think the worry for the medical profession is that people will think as a rule obesity is ok. When there are many health issues associated.

I'm glad the girls in the piece are off the yo-yo dieting which is just as bad.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I think in general, no.

But if one has a serious issue with weight, it certainly is better to be overweight and leave it than to go up and down the scale constantly and all of the elation and depression that comes with either end of the weight spectrum.

Perhaps for these people, it is indeed healthier to just love themselves as they are, maintain their current weight, and stop the madness of starvation and overeating.

 

[Saphire]

No, when you are fat (100 lbs or more) you are very unhealthy. Even if 'the numbers' are good now when you are young, over time the extra weight will affect your health in many various ways.
If you step into a doctor's office with 100 pounds to lose and no problems with your heart, circulation, joints, breathing, acid reflux, etc., the doctor will still want you to take the weight off. Obese people don't make it to old age, and their quality of life is often poor as they get older and various weight related problems become more prevalent.

 

[monkey68]

I think this thread is proof of the discriminatory attitude our country has against the overweight. No one but a person's doctor can decide if they are healthy or not healthy. Yes extra weight is bad for the joints, etc, but there are plenty of "unhealthy" things for thin people too. One of the thinest people I know has super high cholesterol. Another thin person has to take blood pressure medicine.

Personally, I am well over weight. I have some medical issues (knee and hip pains, reactive airway disorder, allergies, and depression). Some of these condition would probably get better if I lost weight, but others of these conditions have a cause effect on weight gain.

Like a previous poster I have GREAT blood pressure, pulse rate, cholesterol, sugar levels, etc. In these ways I am healthy.

It's not discriminatory, it's simply proof that most people realizing being 100 pounds overweight is truly not healthy. Maybe the rare person will live to old age being 100 pounds overweight and not have any problems, but it's very much a rarity. There are so many issues associated with being overweight, that a majority of people will succumb to. Things like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea. You simply can't get away from those facts.

Yes, skinny people can get these same conditions, and not all skinny people are healthy. I don't think anyone will stand here and say that someone that weighs 130 pounds but eats only 4 chocolate bars a day is healthy. But the truth is, that a person weighing 130 pounds who eats a well balanced diet is much less likely to develop these conditions than someone who is 100 pounds overweight.

Maybe that super thin person you know with high cholesterol has familial hypercholesterolemia, a dominant disorder leading to high cholesterol at a very early age. Genetics aren't something you can't escape from. So maybe she's actually doing right by minimizing her risk of heart disease by staying thin, since she already has a high cholesterol, she is trying to avoid other problems that might predispose her to having a heart attack. Even if she doesn't, even if she just randomly has high cholesterol, there are exceptions always, and by and large, generally, the person that is 100 pounds overweight will have more health problems and at an earlier age than their counterpart that is a healthy weight.

The OP asked if we think being overweight is healthy, by and large it isn't. There are many studies to prove that it's not. And of course there are exceptions to every rule, but it's kind of hard to argue with statistics.

 

[C.Ann]

People aren't saying that thin people can't be unhealthy, they are just logically pointing out the problems that are associated with obesity.

-------------------

Underweight person here - with health issues.. Being very underweight - or 100 lbs. overweight - is equally dangerous and definitely not "healthy"..

If someone is 100 lb.s overweight right now - and saying that they currently aren't having any health problems - is the equivalent to the attitude of a smoker - who doesn't have health problems "yet".. Eventually they will both catch up with you - in one way or another..

 

[Macca1111]

Exactly...and if the OP had asked if someone could be dangerously underweight and still be healthy, people would be saying no to that too. It's all unhealthy!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Overweight and healthy? Yes. 100 pounds overweight and healthy? No.

The morbidly obese people I know in their 50s (my age) are having it catch up with them now.

That said, I don't judge people who are fat. Heck, I can't lose the extra 8 pounds I want to get rid of, I can't imagine trying to lose 100. Lots of people are unhealthy in non-visible ways and I hate that folks single out people with weight problems and point their fingers at them (figuratively speaking).

 

[friendofgusgus]

I think in general, no.

But if one has a serious issue with weight, it certainly is better to be overweight and leave it than to go up and down the scale constantly and all of the elation and depression that comes with either end of the weight spectrum.

Perhaps for these people, it is indeed healthier to just love themselves as they are, maintain their current weight, and stop the madness of starvation and overeating.

What she said!

 

[DawnCt1]

Carrying an extra 100 pounds will put unnecessary strain on your heart, even if all those "numbers" look normal right now. Not to mention what it will do to your feet, ankles, knees, and hips over time.
No, of course it's not healthy.

I agree. Lets not forget, "youth" is very forgiving. The stresses that we can tolerate in the first half of life are very unforgiving in the second half.

 

[Free4Life11]

No you can't be fat and healthy.

 

[Planogirl]

You can be overweight and appear healthy at any given moment but in general being 100 pounds overweight is not a good thing. Lower weight people doing unhealthy things doesn't change that IMO.

 

[ajk912]

I think this thread is proof of the discriminatory attitude our country has against the overweight. No one but a person's doctor can decide if they are healthy or not healthy. Yes extra weight is bad for the joints, etc, but there are plenty of "unhealthy" things for thin people too. One of the thinest people I know has super high cholesterol. Another thin person has to take blood pressure medicine.

Personally, I am well over weight. I have some medical issues (knee and hip pains, reactive airway disorder, allergies, and depression). Some of these condition would probably get better if I lost weight, but others of these conditions have a cause effect on weight gain.

Like a previous poster I have GREAT blood pressure, pulse rate, cholesterol, sugar levels, etc. In these ways I am healthy.

Why is it whenever there is a thread about obesity someone ALWAYS has to chime in and try to deflect by saying, "Wait, obesity isn't that bad! Thin people can be unhealthy too!"

Were we talking about thin people? What does that have to do with anything? We are talking about 100 lbs overweight people. Not thin people.

 

[aristocatz]

20-40 pounds overweight-probably not too unhealthy.

100 pounds overweight-no way around it=unhealthy.

I do think that people can be 100 pounds overweight and lead a happy and mentally happy life though.

 

[dnoyes]

Is smoking 3 packs a day healthy? you have your answer.

My wife does claims for a LARGE insurance company and the biggest problem with the insured is weight. Every part of the body breaks down over time .... it's a fact. It's the largest health care cost they pay. Period.

 

[redlight]

I don't think so at 100n pounds overweight, but I think you can be 20 or even 40 lbs overweight and still healthy.

 

[MushyMushy]

I think a person can be healthy throughout the peak years, but it'll wear on them.

But really, I don't care. No one here gets out alive.

 

[Veronica Lodge]

No, not 100 lbs. overweight. The added stress on your joints and your heart will catch up with you.

I used to be about 50 lbs overweight - in the obese category according to BMI - and I was "healthy" if you considered cholesterol, blood pressure, etc. But I couldn't jog a mile without taking a break. I couldn't do 20 push-ups or sit ups. I wasn't really healthy.

Now that I have lost about 30 lbs and am just "overweight" I can run 2 miles at a good pace, do crunches and push ups without feeling like I was dying, and am more healthy than I was 10 years ago.

Yeah, we are all going to eventually die, but I'd rather not spend my last 10 or 15 years in poor health, dependent on a scooter, and in and out of the hospital like my aunt and uncle.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

No. As somebody who developed prediabetes at the age of 24 after gaining 20 lbs, I see what these women are doing and cringe. Clearly there is more to issues like diabetes than just weight or age, as I have unfortunately experienced, but there are known risk factors. There is also the issue of diabetes actually causing weight gain, which I do think was a factor in my case (although most certainly not the only one). However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

I realize it's hard to lose weight, I've been trying and only recently succeeding for over a year now. But these women don't understand what they are doing to their bodies. You don't want to be making yourself bleed multiple times a day, watching every single freaking morsel that goes into your mouth. It sucks. They are well on their way to this and other issues. Sure, there are many people who do not get diabetes or heart disease or anything else because they managed to hit the genetic jackpot. But research has clearly shown that even losing 10% can greatly reduce your risk. Why wouldn't you at least try?

And no, I don't go down the street judging them. I'm pudgy myself, I need to lose 40 lbs to be healthy, I plan on losing 50 (which would still put me in the acceptable range for my height) so I know how hard it is and everybody has their own battle with it and may have a reason such as disease or medication why they are overweight. But I also can't sit back and condone this attitude.

 

[daughtersrus]

I don't think that you can be healthy that much overweight but yet we see if glorified all of the time with boys/men.

Take a look at any high school, college or pro football player. They talk about the weight of these boys/men like it's something that they should be striving towards. You can't tell me that it's healthy for them to weigh 250-300lbs.

 

[honugirl]

Honestly, I don't think you can. I'm overweight, not by choice, by disease. If I had the choice, there's no way I'd be this way. I used to be a fit 140 pounds and was healthy. If I had my choice, I'd be back there again.