You're better to be fat and fit than skinny and slack

1 October

When it comes to health goals, fitness should be top of the list, according to health experts who say fitness has so many metabolic benefits that it counteracts some of the dangers of body fat.

It might seem counter intuitive to the anti-obesity and weight loss messages we hear so often, but experts are calling for a shift in focus towards more movement over restrictive dieting.

"It is far more important to be fit than it is to worry about body fat," Professor Michael Cowley, head of Monash University's Department of Physiology, tells Coach.

Professor Cowley says that good cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength helps our bodies run more efficiently, no matter our size.

"Regardless of your body fat level, physical fitness puts you in a better place," he says.

"Fitness increases your cardiovascular capacity, which means blood circulates better [and] you deliver oxygen and nutrients to your body better, and you remove waste products from your body better."

Plus, when muscles have been worked, Professor Cowley says they have a better capacity for glucose absorption.

"Even the same amount of muscle, just the fact it's been exercising means it uses more glucose, which decreases your risk of type two diabetes," he points out.

 

"If you're exercising then you're [also] putting stress on your muscles and bones [which makes them] grow and stay stronger … and strong bones are a determinant of overall long life because they don't break.

"We all can be fitter so, from a health perspective, that's probably a better target. It doesn't encourage body dysmorphic disorders like anorexia [because] worrying about weight can [result in] a spiral where you're doing yourself harm quite easily."

While Professor Cowley says that it's true that visceral fat, which is carried around the abdomen, is dangerous and increases our risk of type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease, exercise helps to counteract that danger.

"Healthy, exercised muscles reverse many of the things that abdominal obesity causes," he says.

And just because you look slim does not automatically make you healthier, Professor Cowley says.

"[If you're thin and unfit], you're missing out on the benefits of good cardiovascular health," he says.

"You don't have the same reserves in terms of heart capacity, and you don't have the same muscle strength and muscle health as someone who is fit does. Exercise by itself brings down blood pressure and controls blood glucose."

While Professor Cowley says the gold standard of health is to be lean and fit, he says he'd rather everyone – skinny or fat – make fitness a priority.

"There's mental health benefits as well," he says.

"There's nothing like the feeling you get after a moderate to heavy exercise session. It's a huge bonus and you can't achieve that through a diet."

 

Source: Nine.com.au
https://coach.nine.com.au/2018/08/23/13/15/youre-better-to-be-fat-and-fit-than-skinny-and-slack

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