True or False. An overweight active person can be healthier than a skinny inactive individual. If you answered, “false,” you’d be wrong!
As hard as this may be to believe, weight is not always a great indicator of health, and being thin certainly doesn’t mean you’re healthy.
Researchers have found that thin people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise tend to have major deposits of internal fat around vital organs like the heart, liver, and pancreas. While the exact dangers of internal fat aren’t known, some doctors believe it can contribute to the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The theory is that internal fat interferes with the body’s communication system, sending out chemical signals for your body to store fat inside of these organs thus leading to insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
The take-away here is that you can’t depend on outward appearances when it comes to gauging health. You can’t readily tell if you’re suffering from internal fat, but you can easily eliminate it by improving your diet and exercising regularly.
You know there’s no shortcut to being fit. Sure, if you want to just LOOK thin, then maybe you’re satisfied with only dieting. However, if you truly want to be healthy and fit, then you will need to make physical activity an important part of your lifestyle.