Research dismisses ‘fat but fit’ myth

The European Congress on Obesity has heard that the concept that people can be overweight but medically fit is a myth.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham analysed data and GP records of 3.5 million people in the UK, tracking people who were obese at the start of the study, who also had no evidence of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes at this point.

They found that, despite being ‘metabolically healthy’, these people were at higher risk of developing heart disease, strokes and heart failure than people of normal weight. The researchers conclude that ‘metabolically healthy obesity is not a harmless condition’.

Dr Mike Knapton, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "It's not often that research on this scale and magnitude is able to clarify an age-old myth. These findings should be taken extremely seriously and I'd urge healthcare professionals to take heed.

"Previously we used to think that being overweight led to an increase in heart attacks and stroke because it raised your blood pressure or cholesterol. What was new from this study for me is that it showed that people who were overweight or obese were at increased risk of heart disease even though they may have been healthy in every other respect. Just being overweight puts you at increased risk of heart attack and stroke."

The research, ay yet unpublished, remains open to debate as it has not been scrutinised by other academics and medics.