Can You Be Fat AND Fit?
Some past research has indicated that being physically active can help cancel out the negative effects of being overweight on heart health.
But… is that true?
Well, a new study put that idea to the test. And you’ll be surprised by what it found.
I have some unfortunate news.
Frankly, the idea that exercising can cancel out the negative effects of obesity is crazy.
It would be like putting guacamole on cake and saying that cake is good for you (that sounds gross, but you get the drift).
Fat cells pour out harmful inflammatory substances, which leads to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
Being overweight increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, and kidney disease—and has specifically been linked to causing over a dozen different types of cancer.
I wish that going to the gym a few times a week or walking around the block could cancel out those effects, but the reality is, it can’t.
That’s just not the way our bodies work.
And a recent study adds more proof to this fact:
Researchers used data from over 500,000 people averaging 42 years old. They were divided by activity level and body weight. Then researchers categorized them for diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure (major risk factors for heart attack and stroke).
Here’s the first point:
Those who exercised were less likely to have any of the three major heart risk factors: diabetes high cholesterol, or high blood pressure.
In other words, regardless of your weight, exercising can help protect your health.
But get this…
Regardless of how much someone exercised, overweight/obese individuals had a dramatically HIGHER risk of cardiovascular problems.
Specifically, compared to normal weight people who did NOT exercise, overweight/obese people who DID exercise were still:
- Twice as likely to have high cholesterol
- Four times as likely to have diabetes
- Five times as likely to have high blood pressure
This was the case in both men and women.
Which brings me to my second point:
Exercising simply cannot cancel out the extreme dangers of obesity.
Moral of the story: Maintaining a healthy weight is as important (or even more important) as being physically active.
I make it a point to do both.
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