Remember Fat But Fit? Good. Now Forget It.

Remember fat but fit--the assertion that those of us who carry a few extra pounds were just as healthy as those who don't?  Well, forget it, because a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests researchers got it wrong, again. The Boston Globe reports that the study, which tracked almost 38,000 women, considered height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity, including walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming. Women were considered active if they followed government-recommended guidelines and got at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week, including brisk walking or jogging. Women who got less exercise than that were considered inactive. Researchers found that, compared with normal-weight active women, the risk for developing heart disease was 54 percent higher in overweight active women and 87 percent higher in obese active women. By contrast, it was 88 percent higher in overweight inactive women; and 2 1/2 times greater in obese inactive women.
Read more in the Boston Globe.

Comments

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That's a relief. Maybe this will help stem the tide of snarky comments about being "too thin" or "working out too much" from those who we all know wish they were thinner or don't work out enough.