Can we just agree on something? You can be fat AND beautiful. Point, blank, period. These two traits are not mutually exclusive so when your fat friend says that they’re fat and you reply, “Oh you’re not fat, you’re beautiful,” reflect because you’re saying a lot more than what you think. I’ve witnessed so much bashing of fat people, women especially. Everyone is always deeply concerned about women’s looks and you can tell who weight loss programs target all of the time. But what if I told you that being fat does not always mean that you are unhealthy and that even though you lost weight while dieting, you’re probably still not healthy.
“In a new study by U.S. and European researchers, published in the "European Heart Journal," "overweight and obese people were found to be at no greater risk of developing or dying from heart disease or cancer, compared with normal weight people, as long as they were metabolically fit despite their excess weight.”
That’s right. Now, what does metabolically fit mean? It means that other than weight, one does not have insulin resistance, diabetes, low levels of good cholesterol, high triglycerides and high blood pressure. Almost half of the obese participants in the study qualified as metabolically fit. Moreover, it was discovered that those who were “fat but fit had no higher death risk than metabolically healthy normal weight participants.”
Later on, co-author Dr. Timothy Church, director of the Laboratory of Preventive Medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, explains why people have come to associate obesity with ill health: “Weight is a major issue when it’s combined with a metabolic abnormality. When you have weight plus insulin resistance, weight plus hypertension, weight plus abnormal cholesterol — then you have an issue.” Yes, the more weight you have, the more likely you are to have metabolic abnormality BUT that does not mean that every obese person is unhealthy.
Furthermore, we often associate slimness with good health but that is a myth as well. There are obese but metabolically fit people who are healthier than their thinner peers. Being fit and healthy isn’t ONLY about dieting. Even though you met your goal or “healthy” weight through dieting, your fitness level does not match up. Dr. Church explains further that, “They’re not physically active. They have horrible and restrictive diets. They might not be overweight, but metabolically they’re a mess.” And that is not okay.
The true solution to all this: EXERCISE. A 30-minute walk five days a week can work wonders. Get involved in a fun sport; lose yourself in music and jog or go to the gym; get a fitness partner! Make no mistake, though, thin or fat, everyone needs to exercise. So do NOT make fun of slim people working out at the gym and do not slander fat people at the gym, online, or ANYWHERE.
Lastly, to the author of "20 Celebrities Who Look Ridiculously Good After Their Weight Loss Transformation" who said that, “She made her Hollywood debut in 2009 as Precious, but now 7 years on she is living up to her beautiful name. WOW!” when she lost weight and captioned the article, “Precious Went From Obese to Total Babe” -- just stop. Stop right there.
First of all, she was always worthy of that name, whether you know it or not. Whether you acknowledge that or not. Stop perpetuating the idea that people cannot be both fat AND absolutely stunning (because trust women; we can definitely do BOTH). And if we all only love people when they look a certain way, what does that say about us as a people? Stop dimming her light and the beauty of everyone else’s. Let’s strive to instead support people on their journey AND check ourselves to ensure that we’re healthy before we start pointing fingers.
