To think obesity and elevated visceral fat don’t always go together.

[Topttumps]

So I often notice posts on threads discussing obesity that state that an obese person is going to be a drain on the NHS as your internal organs will be surrounded by visceral fat and you will get diabetes or some other illness because of this.
So today I had a body composition analysis done. I already knew from my over 40s health check that I was in good shape despite my Obesity. My BMI is just shy of 33 but working on it. However of course I did wonder about body composition.
Well the results were surprising. My visceral fat levels were at the top end of normally so still healthy.
I did a bit of googling and this is apparently this is the case in about a third of obese people.
So AIBU to think that obesity alone does not make you unhealthy.
Certainly I exercise more and eat better than my less rounded dh.

To be fair, JW was only ever overweight (think his BMI was 27 or something) and if the obesity crisis is caused by more people with a lot of muscle, why aren't there loads of hot, super-jacked people walking around?

BMI is a blunt tool, but DEXA is an expensive one so they cant scan the entire population the whole time.

home I had one of those checks done before my two stone loss and all my blood tests , cholesterol, blood sugar etc and lifestyle suggested my risk was low. I would imagine they are even better now.

why aren't there loads of hot, super-jacked people walking around!

I wasn’t suggesting for a second that most people who are overweight are the same as JW or Brian O’Driscoll btw! It’s just that bmi doesn’t work for everyone. It is accurate enough for most people though.

I also agree with the pp who said people should be supported to make positive changes, whatever they may be. I hate it when I read on here that someone is worried about doing exercise because they might get ridiculed as they’re overweight .

Exercise is good for most people! It is still good for you if you’re overweight. It really annoys me when people discourage it and say lose weight first.

I also read that increasing muscle mass helps you lose weight and keep it off. So it’s important for all sizes to be able to get exercise.

home I now wish I had got my act together pre menopause.

God yeah there was a post on here recently where a personal trainer told an overweight lady that she shouldn’t be running. Why the heck not? Why not start slowly? That’s what I am doing.

Yes I also have had weight loss and lipids blood sugars etc all good before and after not much change really- low HB1AC, definitely not in pre diabetic category, high HDL, low LDL and trigs, so I'm happy with that...I go from average BMI to over...but not too keen to keep getting any thinner...it makes you think though what is the goal just being thin or being healthy...as you can see that it is possible to be thin but not metabolically healthy, or fatter but healthier in terms of metabolism. I think my goal is just to be healthy and feel happy, and fitter..and do exercise I enjoy. Glad not to be obsessed with dieting and weight to be honest.

tops
you are doing great with your regime,

this thread shouldn't discourage you or other people wanting to improve health!

star the personal trainer at the gym actually told me that I probably needed to eat more but do more work with weights.
This is my challenge for the coming months.

Top - It sounds like you are healthy though...don't be hard on yourself. You have good bone density, low visceral fat...good bloods...far, far better than being a thin, unfit diabetic isn't it?

Thanks green

and yes building muscle sounds like a good plan. I'd like to do more Body pump and might start that again, perhaps.

Thanks home.

No OP it works the other way round.

If you are obese it is bad for your health.

If you are slim you can still have visceral fat and that is also bad for your health.

So being obese is always unhealthy; you can still be unhealthy even if you are slim and fit (though I'm not sure what you can do if you are an apple rather than a pear shape - I have a large waist for my size but it's the way I'm made and I can't get my waist-hip ratio to be 0.8 or less).

I am tempted to try kettlebells but personal trainer mentioned body pump too. Just need to pluck up courage to book one.

Body pump is good but I find the music a bit 'raar' haha, it's fine but you can see online for a video to see what I mean. Also quite a bit of changing around a faff with the weights on a stick etc. and I'm not keen on press ups. I do some other Les Mills classes such as body balance too. and have hand weights at home. I like swimming best though.

Kettle bells look hard but I think they are probably good - I have seen a class in the park which if funny in a way but think they are very brave

There is another measure besides BMI which is waist to hip rain as well, maybe you could look at that instead...it's still not all that accurate though it seems, but it seems it is better than BMI.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist–hip_ratio

www.diabetes.co.uk/waist-to-hip-ratio-calculator.html

So it can be seen there are different measures of obesity as well.

Top do you get the big boobs also? If I gain weight it seems to go there and the bum...mine go from 34D to 34GG..I'm not liking this and prefer them a bit smaller.

Just checked and although BMI calculator says overweight, waist to hip ratio is good...so I'm happy with that.

I'm afraid a Tanita can't tell you how much visceral fat you have, it can only accurately tell you your overall body fat percentage (+/- 5% depending on level of hydration and how much food has been recently consumed). Anyone who tells you it can somehow see how much fat is surrounding your internal organs is deluded or lying.

That said, you've obviously made great progress with your weight loss and exercise regime, so well done on that, and keep it up! Just don't be lulled into thinking that this device can tell you how healthy you are - there's a whole spectrum of tests that you could have at a private GP if you're interested, including blood work and a referral for a full body scan.

Yeah, I didn't think a Tanita could tell a person anything about where on their body their fat is. I thought you had to get inside one of Jimmy Bell's expensive MRI machines to measure fat around internal organs of a living person. Happy to be corrected.

I'm borderline obese at 5'6 and have a 27 inch waist... I have 28 L boobs and my thighs are huge (And flabby) ... basically hourglass. Mostly I struggle to lose weight from thighs and boobs and what I lose drops off my midriff and ribs.

Still want to lose weight so not in denial...

The last time my weight was in normal range I was a 32f. Now I am a 34j so I sympathise.
So yes I am definitely hourglass.
Will check out the other ratios and take on s new class at the gym.

Clearly I carry extra weight in my fingers too. A new class!

Interesting to see what National Eating Disorders charity has to say about the 'poison' of Health at any size...

www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/ResourceHandouts/WhatisHealthAtEverySize.pdf