No, you can’t be both fat and fit, say Swedish experts in new study

BEING fat but fit and healthy is a myth, scientists claim.

If you are overweight, a study suggests that even doing lots of exercise will not prevent an early death. Researchers say it is more important to be slim, even if you are unfit.

For years, experts have believed it is possible to be “fat but fit” and still relatively healthy.This led to some heavier adults assuming that a few extra kilograms did not matter as long as they took regular exercise.

But a Swedish study of more than 1.3 million men suggests this is not the case.

Professor Peter Nordstrom, from Umea University, looked at the records of men spanning an average of 29 years from when they were 18.

They had all joined the armed forces, which involved undertaking a fitness test FAT CHANCE: For best results, lose those extra kilos and then work out. on an exercise bike when they signed up.

The men had also been weighed and measured, which enabled researchers to calculate whether they were overweight or obese.

Nordstrom and his team then looked at which participants had since died from illnesses including cancer and heart disease.

They found that those who were fit were generally far less likely to die early than those who were inactive – but this effect was cancelled out if they were overweight. And men who were slim and inactive were 30 percent less likely to die than those who were fat but fit.

The professor, whose work is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, said the findings contradicted the belief that the obese can fully compensate mortality risk by being physically fit.

He added that having a healthy body mass index (BMI) – a calculation used to measure obesity – was more crucial in preventing early death than keeping active.

The study contradicts previous research from the University of South Carolina in the US that found fit obese adults were at no greater risk of developing heart disease or cancer than normal-weight individuals who did not exercise. – Daily Mail

Researchers says it is more important to be slim