You can easily be fit and fat. You only have to exercise regularly and you’ve got that covered. Regardless of your weight, fat or thin, you will be a lot healthier by keeping yourself fit. This has been proved many times with many studies.
But can you be just as healthy being overweight compared to if you were slim?
Doctors have known for a long time that some illness and disease is more common in people who are overweight, and get more likely to hit you the more overweight you are. Why is this so?
To answer that we have to look at what your fat stores are doing, and I’m not talking about how they make you look. It’s a common assumption that it is just there – on your belly or around your bum and thighs – doing nothing. This is not the case.
What Is Your Fat Up To?
Fat doesn’t just sit there doing nothing, it secretes substances into your blood stream. One of these things is a hormone called leptin. With a normal amount of body fat your leptin levels will be quite low. The more fat you have on you the more leptin it makes, so the more you have circulating in your system.
At normal low levels leptin does not harm your health. But if levels are high over the long-term it becomes inflammatory to your body, this means it is harmful and does damage to you. This could present itself as high blood pressure, heart problems and cancer.
In every medical text book obesity is listed as a significant risk factor for things like heart disease and cancers like breast cancer and prostate cancer. Obviously these things aren’t exclusive to overweight people but you are stacking the cards against yourself by being overweight.
Some of my readers have wanted a nudge to get them to take action about their health and weight. Does this hit the mark? If this has prompted you in any way to look at your health please share so other people can have a nudge too.
Have an Uber Healthy week
Dr Julie
PS Congratulations to Janet for winning April’s free place on Uber Slim, my online weight loss program.
If you would like a chance to win the one on offer in May make sure you’re signed up to the newsletter, so you know the one easy question to answer.
Find out more here