Weight Not Necessarily an Indication of Health
Written by Kathryn Savage
If you’re thin, does that mean you’re heart healthy?
Not necessarily. Though weight is a key part of an annual physical, and traditionally understood to be a measure of good health, a recent study reveals that the term “overweight” is grab bag, and that some people with high Body Mass Indexes, (BMI’s), can actually be quite "in shape". 
Recently, a report was issued in the Archives of Internal Medicine comparing the weight and overall health of approximately 5,400 adults. What they discovered, described extensively in the New York Times, is “that half of overweight people and one-third of obese people are “metabolically healthy.” That means that despite their excess pounds, many overweight and obese adults have healthy levels of “good” cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and other risks for heart disease.”
What this means for you and me, is weight does not necessarily equate with health. What does?
Fitness level, evidently.
Studies at the Cooper Institute in Dallas indicate that overweight people who can comfortably workout on a treadmill--and who arguably get regular exercise--have a reduced heart risk compared to slim people with a normal BMI, (18.5 to 25), who don’t get regular exercise.
A separate study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, followed death rates of thousands of elderly people, over a 12 year period. The death rates for slightly overweight people, (BMI of 25 to 30), were actually lower than normal weight adults. People with a BMI of 35 or more, had the highest death rates.
Discounting BMI, those with the lowest fitness level were four times as likely to die during the 12-year study than those with the highest fitness level.
Studies like this, underscore that even getting outside and regularly going for a walk, or working in your garden daily, can drastically promote longevity.
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