Can You Be Fat and Fit?

A study conducted in the Netherlands found some obese individuals to not be at increased risk for heart disease due to their weight. I’m going to share what they learned because I don’t want you to start seeing headlines saying you can be fat and still be fit and start thinking it’s okay to remain a couch potato.

The Study

Dutch researchers identified a subset of 1,325 obese individuals, between the ages of 28 to 75 years-old, from the 8,356 participants in the Dutch Prevention of Renal and Vascular Endstage Disease study. Out of the 1,325 obese individuals only 90 were determined to be “metabolically healthy”.

Metabolically healthy means the participants did not have risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, or the use of cholesterol lowering medication. The Dutch study found only 6.8 percent of obese individuals in a larger population are metabolically healthy.

The Results

Over a 7 ½ year period only 1 out of the 90 individuals developed cardiovascular disease. This is a percentage of 1.1 percent and comparable to the risk for heart disease for overweight healthy individuals (1.3 percent) and normal weight individuals (0.6 percent).

The Take Away

There are obese individuals who do not live with the standard elevated risk for heart disease. However, it’s worth noting they still risk other complications due to the excess weight, such as joint issues. Also, obese individuals, regardless of metabolic health need to regularly have a risk profile evaluation to stay on top of any potential complications.

I want you to really understand this applies to a very small percent of the population. If you are overweight or obese I still encourage you to simply assume you are at increased risk and take steps to lose weight and reduce your heart disease risk.

Click here for a few steps to promote weight loss.

Be sure to register for the FREE teleclass on August 31st – The 5 Biggest Dieting Myths Revealed.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
https://www.lisanelsonrd.com