A major study has found that being ‘fat but fit’ is all a big myth

Catchy as it sounds, there’s no medical basis behind it.

A major study by researchers at the University of Birmingham has revealed that there is no truth behind the phrase ‘fat but fit’, which refers to the idea that being obese has no harmful effects on people who are otherwise healthy. The study, which is as yet unpublished but was discussed at the European Congress of Obesity in Portugal this week, analysed medical data from 3.5 million people in the United Kingdom over a 20-year period between 1995 and 2015. It certainly can’t be accused of not being thorough, that’s for sure. A summary of the study, according to the BBC, found that people who were obese at the start of the study (defined, in this case, as people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30) but had no evidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes were at a greater risk of developing those conditions than people with a normal weight. The study contradicts research published in the European Heart Journal in 2012, which suggested that obese people who were physically healthy were at no greater risk of developing heart disease or cancer than people of normal weight. Commenting on the findings of the study, Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said it would help clarify an “age-old myth”. "This is another study highlighting that, if you are overweight, you are more likely to suffer from heart disease," said Knapton. "It's not often that research on this scale and magnitude is able to clarify an age-old myth. These findings should be taken extremely seriously and I'd urge healthcare professionals to take heed." Food for thought.