Body positivity has a come a long way in recent years and we are told to embrace who we are and love our bodies, wobbly bits and all! But can we be healthy whilst being overweight?
Before we try and answer that, we must define what overweight means. People can be overweight due to large muscle mass or water retention. For clarity, what we are discussing here is people that are classed as obese. The World Health Organization’s definition of obesity is a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30, but BMI is not always a reliable figure by itself. Your heavily muscled rugby player is very likely to have a high BMI but they are not obese. A better and more rounded definition of obese is given by the NHS who state ‘A better measure of excess fat is waist size, which can be used as an additional measure in people who are overweight (with a BMI of 25 to 29.9) or moderately obese (with a BMI of 30 to 34.9). Generally, men with a waist size of 94cm or more and women with a waist size of 80cm or more are more likely to develop obesity-related health problems.’
However, before we discuss the health issues of being obese, we must declare that in TheBoldAge office we are not all super fit and at our ideal weight. For example, Nigel and I go socially distanced running at least once a week. He knows that he is overweight and is carrying slightly more then he would like around his middle. But life is all about balance, Nigel likes to cook and therefore eat. He knows he should eat less to lose those few extra pounds, but life isn’t perfect. He does what he feels he can, runs regularly, cycles and has a Personal Trainer. He is on the road to living a healthier life, but he doesn’t want that to be at the expense of everything that he enjoys. We are not here to judge anyone and genuinely understand the struggles people have trying to lose weight.
Be that as it may, we must be honest and state that the vast majority of research states that being obese is not good for you. It is not always the fat you can see either, visceral fat can gather around your organs leading to serious health issues. Being overweight can lead to type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, breast cancer, bowel cancer, high cholesterol, sleep apnoea and strokes; to name just a few. It can also cause physical changes to your body limiting its movement. Some people can also suffer with low self-esteem and depression.
It is not just being overweight that can cause health problems, being underweight can cause issues too. A healthy weight is the ideal and as we mentioned at the start, calculating your BMI (but not in isolation) is a good way to start. The NHS has a BMI healthy weight calculator that you can use for this purpose, and don’t forget to also measure your waist.
Everyone should be comfortable in their own skin and be able to live their life free from the judgement of others. We are all adults, if we choose to be overweight, knowing the issues that could cause, that is our right. But we shouldn’t pretend that we are fit and healthy,
our bodies are not designed to carry that extra weight. Being overweight will have an impact on your health. If you are looking to lose a few pounds we have some great recipes in BOLDfood and some exercises to follow in BOLDfitness and on our You Tube channel.
At the end of the day it is all about balance, ‘ying and yang’, so go on why don’t you start anew, today.
### Boldie Links:
The NHS BMI healthy weight claculator can be found [**here**](https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/bmi-calculator/)