You don't have to be FAT to be FAT, apparently.. interesting...

[LadyMischief]

Just when people thought they knew it all :P :

"If it really is what's on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.

Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart, liver or pancreas ? invisible to the naked eye ? could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges underneath the skin.

"Being thin doesn't automatically mean you're not fat," said Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College, London. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create "fat maps" showing where people store fat.

According to the data, people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim. "The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined," said Bell, whose research is funded by Britain's Medical Research Council.
Without a clear warning signal ? like a rounder middle ? doctors worry that thin people may be lulled into falsely assuming that because they're not overweight, they're healthy.

"Just because someone is lean doesn't make them immune to diabetes or other risk factors for heart disease," said Dr. Louis Teichholz, chief of cardiology at Hackensack Hospital in New Jersey, who was not involved in Bell's research.

Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores ? a standard obesity measure that divides your weight by the square of your height ? can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside."

More here:
http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyand...c635e6&k=18599

[thricer]

very very interesting... NOT

[NTM]

[Lee]

I bet a skinny person has statistically less chance of a coronary than a porker despite what some survey says.

[drjones]

Obesity is defined by how much of a % of your body weight is fat. You can be skinny and still be obese. Looking at someones gut isnt always a good indication.

[Peaches]

I'm fat and my doctor tells me every visit that I am in the best health of any of his patients my age - fat or not.

Health is mostly genetic (though unfortunately so is the propensity to gain weight easily). I have good health genes - and big jeans

[jonesonyou]

I like food...I haven't changed my mind about food I don't think I will.

[carol.prime]

thanks for sharing that stuff..i've learned something from you!!.

[Jim_Gunn]

Originally Posted by Peaches

I'm fat and my doctor tells me every visit that I am in the best health of any of his patients my age - fat or not.

Health is mostly genetic (though unfortunately so is the propensity to gain weight easily). I have good health genes - and big jeans

Don't give people misinformation. Health is NOT mostly genetic. Lifestyle and to a lesser extent, environmental factors combine with your genetic background and create your overall health situation throughout your lifetime. The propensity to gain weight does vary between people but it is a trivial factor compared to the variables of how you live your life when talking about what kind of weight you are carrying. What you eat and how much you eat and how much you exercise will largely have a direct control over your weight and fitness no matter what your genetic background is.

[Peaches]

Originally Posted by Jim_Gunn

Don't give people misinformation. Health is NOT mostly genetic. Lifestyle and to a lesser extent, environmental factors combine with your genetic background and create your overall health situation throughout your lifetime. The propensity to gain weight does vary between people but it is a trivial factor compared to the variables of how you live your life when talking about what kind of weight you are carrying. What you eat and how much you eat and how much you exercise will largely have a direct control over your weight and fitness no matter what your genetic background is.

I'm going by what my brother, who has a PhD in genetics, has told me. Maybe he's wrong. But so far, my personal and family experience has proved him right.

I eat like crap and exercise usually consist of walking to the car, but I'm in excellent health for a 45 year old. All my grandparents lived to be in their upper 80's/90's and ate southern fried food, Cokes, snacks, red meat (one grandfather owned a snack company, sold it and opened a cattle ranch), etc.

Obviously other factors come in to play, but when I see people who've eaten nothing but "poor" food choices and are healthy, I have to wonder HOW much

[VanessaGT]

Originally Posted by Lee

I bet a skinny person has statistically less chance of a coronary than a porker despite what some survey says.

Well I can only hope so, as I am slim, but have high cholesterol and have so since my mid teens. I am also not a big fan of junky or fatty foods and I generally eat healthy

Guess we'll see who laughs now and cries later.

Thank you for the thread as I would have not otherwise known! I'm sure it's made a few people happy to know