Can You Really Be Fat and Fit ?

Can You Really Be Fat and Fit  ?

Does the media affect our attitudes to Healthy Living.

In the media there have been articles referring to a study claiming that obese people can be as fit as someone who is classified as normal weight. Some of these headlines have included People can be fat yet fit, research suggests. BBC News, September 5 2012,Never mind the fat. It's being fit that matters. The Independent, September 5 2012,People can be fat and fit as study finds obesity doesn't automatically lead to ill-health. Daily Mail, September 5 2012

 This is nothing new, me like everyone else have seen people who are obese who are fit and healthy. There are prime examples of these running up and down rugby pitches of the United Kingdom, The Sumo Wrestling rings of Japan and slugging it out for twelve rounds in the bright lights of La Vegas.

Really the headline should be boasting “ Fit people can be obese” as it is the “being fit” is what makes an individual “metabolically healthy” (Metabollically healthy is term used to define a person who 1 or less risk factor that classes someone metabolically abnormal) and not the the body weight making people healthy. The intriguing thing about the headlines is how they all start with “Fat” as the main subject, which is already misleading by placing “Fat” as the important subject. This already gives the reader comfort through subliminal messaging that being obese/overweight is ok. It seems that the media is focussing on trying to get society accept this new way of life, as appose to trying to encourage people to focus on the benefits of exercise and healthy living.

The best approach sometimes is to be on the fence about health related issues, I have seen people die an early age from chronic illnesses even though they lived a healthy lifestyle, and I have seen the opposite side of someone neglecting their health living to a grand age.  The point is that we need to accept that exercise and healthy living will not guarantee life nor will unhealthy living will guarantee a premature death. We should focus on what healthy living can bring to use now and the benefits are vast, you just need to experience them.

Links

If you want to read a good analysis on the article done by the National Health Service, check this link out. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/09September/Pages/Can-you-really-be-both-fat-and-fit.aspx