Since the dawn of time – except for maybe a few weeks there at the beginning – health and weight have gone together like up and down, ying and yang, yes and no. The long-held assumption is that being overweight probably means you’re not in the best shape.
But a new study by scientists in the US has found that some 34.4 million Americans considered to be technically overweight or obese in Body Mass Index (BMI) terms are actually perfectly healthy, based on a range of cardiometabolic health markers (such as blood pressure and cholesterol).
“In the overweight BMI category, 47% are perfectly healthy,” said researcher Jeffrey Hunger from the University of California, Santa Barbara, who conducted the research. “So to be using BMI as a health proxy – particularly for everyone within that category – is simply incorrect.”
It works on the other end of the scale too, so individuals deemed to have a healthy BMI might actually be unhealthy when you look at underlying clinical indicators. The discrepancy makes sense if you observe famous people deemed “obese” who are clearly healthy, such as the American football player Tom Brady.
So, we want to hear from readers about whether weight and health are linked. Does your size affect your wellbeing? Do you feel healthier when you’re heavier? For slimmer people, is there an assumption that just because you’re small you’re fit?
Leave your comments below the line, and we’ll round up some of the best ones. You can also share your thoughts via @GuardianOpinion or on our Facebook page.
