Tangent 21 - Fatness or fitness

Posted by
lil_miss

Posted on
12:04
Apr 24 2004

Fatness or fitness

The Guardian published this article today saying that basically being fat is not a health risk.

It refers to several studies on the issues of being overweight or obese leading to early death, and says that these results are misleading. i have to say that the writer of this article may have convinced me of this fact. it says that the problem itself is not being overweight, but it's the level of fitness that an individual is at, claiming that a relatively active overweight individual is healthier and may live longer than a sedentary supposedly ideal weight individual.

i never doubted the fact that fitness plays a major role in the health of an individual, i just always thought that weight played mjuch more of a role than this article claims it does. to fully understand what i'm talking about you really need to read the article, but is does pose the question, is being "overweight" really that much of a problem, or is it vanity?

the article also addresses the issue of heart disease and high blood pressure, saying that studies have shown that it's not necessarily the weight of the individual, but more of the fluctuation in weight, claiming that the stress your body is put in by trying to lose weight and then it being put back on over and over is a larger factor in contracting the disease.

it also mentions studies showing that being overweight can also reduce the risk of cancer mortality and the risk of women contracting osteoporosis.

read the article your self and see what you think.

12 Replies and 5516 Views in Total.

Byron "Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day."

I think someone is in serious need of a stair-master.

As I understand it, we put on weight if we intake more energy (food) than our bodies need, and the excess is stored as fat. That's a major biological hint to take more exercise.

His argument appears to cancel itself out: if you're taking adaquate exercise and eating healthily, you'll loose weight anyway.

With the skyrocketing obesity problem, the last thing we need is someone saying it doesn't matter. Fat is a symptom of a sedatory lifestyle, and you can bet the "take exercise" qualification will be quickly discarded if people take this up instead of a healthy lifestyle.

(Edited by Byron 24/04/2004 15:23)

Posted: 15:23 Apr 24 2004

Stoo There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.

Slightly over-simplified, but in essence correct By.
Wrong types of food for certain individuals (certain types of food have differing effects on different people due to intolerances etc), and genetic abnormalities can also impact the way and amount of fat that is stored.

Another thing that's been discovered is that starving yourself can actually increase the amount of body fat as it basically puts the body into survival mode where it starts motabolising muscle to reduce the body's energy useage and preserve energy stores (aka fat). Hence why constant "yo-yo" dieting never works.

But yeah, in general it's a careful balancing act akin to the "Just In Time" management approach.

(Edited by Stoo 24/04/2004 17:46)

Posted: 17:45 Apr 24 2004

Demona The London Underground is not a political movement.

Well, yeah. My dad's a consultant in the fitness industry and that's what he would say. Weight, and even the BMI, is an awful indication of fitness and therefore health.

If you're out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, you're in trouble, whatever your weight might be.

Originally quoted by Byron
His argument appears to cancel itself out: if you're taking adaquate exercise and eating healthily, you'll loose weight anyway.

Not necessarily. Generally, yes, but it depends how much muscle you gain.

Constantly weighing oneself is pointless and demoralising. People often put on weight when they start a program of exercise because of the rate at which they're gaining muscle and losing fat. Then the get depressed that they're not only not helping but making things worse, so they stop exercising, which needless to say is the wrong thing to do. The problem is the association of weight and fitness in the culture, and lazy and incompetent reporting on the subject.

(Edited by Demona 24/04/2004 19:21)

Posted: 19:20 Apr 24 2004

JtB If someone gives you freedom it is not freedom, freedom is something you take for yourself.

by Demona
Constantly weighing oneself is pointless and demoralising. People often put on weight when they start a program of exercise because of the rate at which they're gaining muscle and losing fat.

True I have started working out at the gym since Jan and whislt losing very little weight my clothes are getting looser and the rest of me firmer. Its a long trek but it took 26 years to put this weight on its gonna take a while to get rid of some of it.

(Edited by JtB 24/04/2004 20:42)

Posted: 20:42 Apr 24 2004

Byron "Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day."

Good point: people do tend to equate weight with fat, I was in my post.

But then oddly enough I have a hard time thinking of Tom Cruise as obese (which, technically, he is!).

Posted: 22:01 Apr 24 2004

Avenger "Watching stuff is better than doing stuff" - Homer Simpson

by Byron
Good point: people do tend to equate weight with fat, I was in my post.

A good indication of the limitations of the BMI is an article I remember seeing around the time of the Rugby World Cup. On the BMI, all bar one of New Zealand's starting 15 would be considered overwieght, and 2 would be clinically obese. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to call them 'unfit' though!

Posted: 22:08 Apr 24 2004

Stoo There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence.

That's why anyone who knows anything about fitness goes on % bodyfat, aerobic/anaerobic capacity, and heart rate, rather than a fairly ambiguous reading of weight.

(Edited by Stoo 24/04/2004 22:52)

Posted: 22:52 Apr 24 2004

Whistler "I wonder wonder why the wonder falls. I wonder why the wonder falls on me. I wonder wonder why the wonder falls, with everything I touch and hear and see."

by Demona
If you're out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, you're in trouble, whatever your weight might be.

Ah, well, who wants to live forever?

Of course, no one ever refers to the fitness fanatics who suddenly fall down dead after jogging or playing squash or something similar, do they? Plus whenever I see people out jogging they look like they're in agony.

And Tom Cruise is obese?? I'm sorry, but I think that is absolute rubbish!! He may be technically overweight but calling him obese is irresponsible to my mind. There's a big enough problem with young people thinking they are overweight and starving themselves as there is. Making statements like that is just going to compound the problem.

(Edited by Whistler 25/04/2004 11:11)

Posted: 11:07 Apr 25 2004

Maffrew In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight...

by Whistler
Of course, no one ever refers to the fitness fanatics who suddenly fall down dead after jogging or playing squash or something similar, do they? Plus whenever I see people out jogging they look like they're in agony.

Well, it's my understanding that in most case those people either have undiagnosed heart conditions or they really are fanatical and have put way too much stress on their body. Nobody is saying that is a good thing, and you can hardly use that extreme to say that working out and keeping fit isn't worth it.

The choice is, be slothful and get fat and unhealthy, or make an effort, be healthy and fit. I know which i want.

by Whistler
And Tom Cruise is obese?? I'm sorry, but I think that is absolute rubbish!! He may be technically overweight but calling him obese is irresponsible to my mind. There's a big enough problem with young people thinking they are overweight and starving themselves as there is. Making statements like that is just going to compound the problem.

Well, if you read what people have said, that's why they are saying the BMI is a bad judge because it doesn't take into account muscle mass, which means healthy, fit individuals like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt can be labelled as overweight or obese because the BMI doesn't work for people with a lot of muscle.

Posted: 11:35 Apr 25 2004

Byron "Live. Grow stronger. Fight another day."

by Whistler
And Tom Cruise is obese?? I'm sorry, but I think that is absolute rubbish!!

Pretty much my point.

Exercising your way to an early coronary is not a good thing, but exercise-related deaths are a tiny fraction of the problems obesity is causing. You can overdo anything, but there are far, far less problems caused by exercise than the lack of it.

Posted: 14:38 Apr 25 2004

PictureOfFlowers "When things are at their darkest, it's a brave man that can kick back and party." - Lt. Tuck Pendleton, Innerspace

by Maffrew
The choice is, be slothful and get fat and unhealthy, or make an effort, be healthy and fit. I know which i want.

Or to put it another way: Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may be dead, or Eat lots of lettuce, cos tomorrow there'll be plenty more lettuce to eat. I know which I want too!

Posted: 22:57 Apr 26 2004

Whistler "I wonder wonder why the wonder falls. I wonder why the wonder falls on me. I wonder wonder why the wonder falls, with everything I touch and hear and see."

by PictureOfFlowers
(quotes)

Or to put it another way: Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may be dead, or Eat lots of lettuce, cos tomorrow there'll be plenty more lettuce to eat. I know which I want too!

Damn straight!

Posted: 14:17 Apr 27 2004

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