{"id":32951,"date":"2013-07-01T20:12:22","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T20:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=32951"},"modified":"2017-04-27T08:15:14","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T13:15:14","slug":"overweight-but-healthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/","title":{"rendered":"Overweight But Healthy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"weight<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Can people be overweight but still be healthy?”<\/strong>\u00a0 This question has been the subject of an intense debate by obesity researchers in the last few years.\u00a0 \u00a0Is the number on the scale the only thing that counts or should we take other factors into consideration?\u00a0 What are the latest findings on \u201cfatness versus fitness\u201d when it comes to determining the overall health\u00a0 of an overweight individual?<\/p>\n

A small but vocal group of researchers have been challenging conventional wisdom. They argue that not only is it possible to be both fat\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0fit, but fitness is actually a more significant measure of health than body weight.\u00a0 The first major fatness versus fitness study was conducted by researchers at the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit fitness organization in Dallas. In a study of 22,000 men ages 30\u201383, the researchers measured subjects’\u00a0body composition\u00a0(the proportion of fat to muscle) and put them through treadmill tests.\u00a0\u00a0 They concluded that if you are fit, being overweight doesn’t increase mortality risk.<\/p>\n

Dr. Steven N. Blair, who headed the Cooper Institute at that time, and has now continued his research at the University of South Carolina, defends the role of fitness as a major determinant of health regardless of one’s weight.\u00a0 “We’ve studied this from many perspectives in women and in men and we get the same answer: It’s not the obesity\u2014it’s the fitness,” Blair said. “Fitness can substantially reduce, if not eliminate, the high risk of being obese.” (Please note that Dr. Blair himself exercises every day but is overweight)<\/p>\n

Blair\u2019s most famous study was called the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) and the findings were astounding.\u00a0 It showed that obese men who were moderately\/highly fit had less than half the risk of dying than the normal-weight men who were unfit.\u00a0 In plain English, an obese man who was fit cut his risk of dying of any cause at any time by half!<\/i><\/p>\n

Results of studies done by Mary Fran Sowers and Judith Wylie, obesity researchers at the University of Michigan, showed that thin, unfit people can develop\u00a0heart-related problems\u00a0that fat but fit people often do not.\u00a0 Kelly Brownell, Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, concluded in a 2003 study that heavy people that are fit have a lower\u00a0risk of heart disease\u00a0than thin people who are unfit.<\/p>\n

However, others are concerned that sending this message will be misunderstood, giving overweight and obese individuals the message that weight doesn’t matter; and these finding offer the perfect excuse to accept those extra pounds as unimportant and\u00a0not to worry about dieting as long as you\u2019re exercising.\u00a0\u00a0 “Being overweight has a clear association with important health problems, and even\u00a0modest weight loss\u00a0has important health benefits,” said Walter Willett, an expert on nutrition and health at the Harvard School of Public Health. “To tell people it doesn’t matter is really misleading. It does make a difference. It makes a huge difference.”<\/p>\n

The Nurses’ Health Study, which since 1976, has been looking at the lifestyle habits and mortality rates of approximately 238,000 nurses, found that being a little active and a little fat wasn’t such a bad combination.\u00a0 But physical activity didn’t completely eliminate the risks that were associated with being overweight or obese. In fact, when the nurses were grouped by how active they were, the heavier nurses had a higher rate of mortality than the lighter ones at every activity level.<\/p>\n

Despite the differences in these studies, they all suggest that physical activity will offset some of the effects of excess weight, if it’s just a few extra pounds. No one is debating that there is a marked difference in disease rates in the obese vs. the overweight.\u00a0 When assessing overall health risk, we need to\u00a0look at many factors, not just the number on the scale.<\/p>\n

Those of you who read my columns already know that the way to weight loss is NOT to go on a diet (you will just go on the diet and then go off the diet).\u00a0 Diet\u2019s focus on the deprivation side of the equation and the willpower will eventually run out. Learn good eating habits\u2014how to eat less and at the same time enjoy your food more. Most of all learn to eat less and at the same time enjoy your food more.\u00a0\u00a0 And moderate intensity exercise can do you a lot of good.\u00a0 One doesn\u2019t have to spend hours in the gym and run for miles and miles in order to reap the benefits.\u00a0 Walk briskly daily for 35 minutes and do some muscle building twice a week and you will see tremendous improvement in your health both from the point of view of your vital measurements (blood tests, blood pressure and resting pulse) and from the way you feel. You will be more functional in your daily tasks and feel better emotionally.<\/p>\n

Exercise is important and weight loss is important.\u00a0 We need both.\u00a0 But remember that if you are one of the many who have a hard time losing all of your weight, whatever you lose is beneficial and if you do indeed emphasize exercise as the key to your health that may just be the most important thing you do for your health and longevity.<\/p>\n

Weight loss is a must! Exercise is a must! And together they will \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.\u201d<\/i><\/b> \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent research suggests that being overweight and being unhealthy aren’t necessarily as exclusive to each other as once thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":32953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-physical-health"],"yoast_head":"\nOverweight But Healthy? - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overweight But Healthy? - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recent research suggests that being overweight and being unhealthy aren't necessarily as exclusive to each other as once thought.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-01T20:12:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T13:15:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"833\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/\",\"name\":\"Overweight But Healthy? - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-01T20:12:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T13:15:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg\",\"width\":833,\"height\":576},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\",\"name\":\"Alan Freishtat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Freishtat\"},\"description\":\"Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at alan@alanfitness.com Check out the his web site \u2013 www.alanfitness.com US Line: 516-568-5027\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/alan_freishtat\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Overweight But Healthy? - OU Life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Overweight But Healthy? - OU Life","og_description":"Recent research suggests that being overweight and being unhealthy aren't necessarily as exclusive to each other as once thought.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/","og_site_name":"OU Life","article_published_time":"2013-07-01T20:12:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-04-27T13:15:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":833,"height":576,"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alan Freishtat","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alan Freishtat","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/","name":"Overweight But Healthy? - OU Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg","datePublished":"2013-07-01T20:12:22+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-27T13:15:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/overweight-but-healthy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/iStock_000005914315Small.jpg","width":833,"height":576},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/","name":"OU Life","description":"Everyday Jewish Living","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f","name":"Alan Freishtat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg","caption":"Alan Freishtat"},"description":"Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at alan@alanfitness.com Check out the his web site \u2013 www.alanfitness.com US Line: 516-568-5027","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/alan_freishtat\/"}]}},"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/469"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32951"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57376,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32951\/revisions\/57376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}