Quote:
In a study that looked at data from 6,171 Americans with normal body size, as measured by body mass index, those with a high percentage of body fat were at significantly greater risk of future heart problems than those with low amounts of fat. Their bodies "behave like they are obese, but they are not," Dr. Lopez-Jimenez says.
People don't have to be overweight to have excess body fat. Instead, these people have a higher ratio of fat to muscle tissue than do people with low body fat.
In a study that looked at data from 6,171 Americans with normal body size, as measured by body mass index, those with a high percentage of body fat were at significantly greater risk of future heart problems than those with low amounts of fat. Their bodies "behave like they are obese, but they are not," Dr. Lopez-Jimenez says.
People don't have to be overweight to have excess body fat. Instead, these people have a higher ratio of fat to muscle tissue than do people with low body fat.
Quote:
Among some of the Mayo Clinic study's findings: High body fat among normal-weight men and women was associated with a nearly four-fold increase in the risk for metabolic syndrome—a cluster of abnormalities including elevated blood sugar and blood pressure. This syndrome is common among people who are obese and is an increasingly important precursor to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For women, high body fat meant a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease over the course of the study. Both men and women had a higher risk of abnormal cholesterol and men with high body fat were more likely to develop high blood pressure.
The article then goes on to discuss the muscle loss that happens if we lose weight without strength training and how we can end up with a high body fat percentage at a normal weight. Personal trainers see this all the time -- the woman who reaches her weight goal without exercising and her body composition classifies her as obese because of her high number of fat pounds and low number of pounds of muscle. The only way to keep from ending up as "skinny fat" when we reach our goals is to preserve and build our muscle masses while we lose fat, preferably from the first day of our lifestyle changes. And this means resistance training/weightlifting/strength training -- they're all the same thing. Among some of the Mayo Clinic study's findings: High body fat among normal-weight men and women was associated with a nearly four-fold increase in the risk for metabolic syndrome—a cluster of abnormalities including elevated blood sugar and blood pressure. This syndrome is common among people who are obese and is an increasingly important precursor to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. For women, high body fat meant a heightened risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease over the course of the study. Both men and women had a higher risk of abnormal cholesterol and men with high body fat were more likely to develop high blood pressure.
The research discussed in the article reinforces the idea that BMI is not a very good measure of fitness and what really matters is body composition: what makes up our bodies under the skin -- the muscle and the fat. Here at 3FC we've certainly seen how two members of the same height and weight can wear very different clothes sizes depending on their body composition. Because muscle is so much smaller and denser than fat, a woman with a low body fat percentage will be much smaller and tighter than a woman with a lot of loose, jiggly fat.
But forget clothes for the moment and read the article for the health implications of a high body fat percentage. Then go lift some weights!
Good article, always good information here at 3FC!!
