Gold Rollboards The concept of “fat but bit” has long been debated, but a recent study from the University of Birmingham in the UK suggests that no amount of extra weight is good for your heart. Previous studies suggested that individuals with an overweight or obese BMI but were otherwise “metabolically healthy” were not at increased risk of heart disease. “Metabolically healthy” refers to those who do not suffer from obesity related complications such as high blood pressure, high blood glucose levels, high triglyceride levels and low HDL cholesterol levels. The UK study found that being overweight or obese increased a person’s risk of heart disease up to 28% despite absence of those metabolic health markers. In short, these findings suggest that “fat but fit” people should maintain a healthy body weight to reduce the risk of heart disease. The take-away for healthcare practitioners is that it is important to promote healthy weight loss for all patients regardless of the absence of obesity related metabolic conditions.
