Fit or Fat?

Can a person be fit and fat? First, let’s define both terms. It’s not that easy if you consider the many conflicting, subjective and emotionally charged versions of both terms. So let’s attempt to provide an easily understood working definition that most people can agree upon:

Fit – a level of physical capacity and body composition that exemplifies a high level, relative to the general population, of stamina, strength-to-body weight, flexibility, core stability and leanness.

Practical examples of each include:

• being able to hurry up three flights of stairs without being completely out of breath
• pulling yourself out of a lake into a boat without a huge struggle
• sitting on the floor with your leg extended and easily reaching your ankle
• crouching down to pick up heavy groceries or small children with no low back strain or concern
•  a waist circumference below 35 inches for women and 40 for men

Fat – body composition of fat-to-lean tissue that is:

Over 25 BMI or

Over 20 percent body fat (men) or over 29 percent body fat (women)

It should be noted that although the medical field and insurance industries still rely heavily on the entrenched BMI metric, it is at best distorted, and at worst wildly deceiving for moderately or heavily muscular individuals, making body fat a much more useful tool for determining fatness and obesity.

For instance, I have a borderline overweight BMI of 24, but am about 11 percent body fat, which is considered lean/athletic. Most professional basketball players show as overweight on BMI charts and competitive bodybuilders with very low body fat percentages are classified as morbidly obese by BMI measurements.

So now that we’ve established a working definition of fit and fat, what does the research say about the growing (no pun intended) population of those who are regular, robust exercisers but still soft, and perhaps wide, through the middle?

Well, the findings are interesting and encouraging for that group. The reality is that the profiles of those who practice a healthful lifestyle have much more in common with each other, almost regardless of their body composition (within certain reasonable limits), than do the profiles of those who have a similar level of fat but completely different levels of regular exercise.

Those who work out regularly are healthier, plain and simple.

But don’t ignore your waistline. Extra body fat, even for those who have vigorous fitness programs, weighs heavily in terms of joint stress, vulnerability to back problems, coordination, agility and balance. These are all notable elements in the equation that determines physical quality of life.

I have a few “fit” clients who have not yet fully confronted their healthful eating challenges, so the opportunity for them to enjoy the full benefit of all their hard work remains. Others have and have never felt better, regardless of their age.

I’ve never been significantly overweight, but when I was a boy, my mother, at 5 foot 2, went from 185 pounds, after being overweight most of her life, to 118 pounds, and never looked or felt better. Over the years she has gained and lost and the more modest fluctuations have created the same effects in both directions, which is a predictable outcome.

So the short version is, yes, it is possible to be fairly well conditioned and healthy with extra weight on your frame.

But lean and fit is still better than fit and fat.

Additional resources:

www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0505c.shtml

www.maricopa.gov/benefits/pdf/2008/body_composition.pdf

www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=38911&sc=803

Want more useful information on how to eat well and get in shape? Contact Dan at http://trivalleywellness.com.