Fat or Fit

Appearances are deceptive. This is especially true when declaring someone fat or fit. A person who�s overweight but athletic can be fit than someone who�s thin but does not exercise. In spite of the notion that weight loss is the ultimate reason to work out, exercise offers other important health benefits. Exercise is helpful whether you lose weight or not. High fitness levels are correlated with overall health. It's not unusual, in fact, to come across recreational joggers who may be in fantastic shape despite the extra 15 pounds they appear to carry. The reason they don't look as lean as, say, athletes or runners, is not because they're unfit, but because their workouts are less intense and frequent, and because they probably don�t adhere to the type of strict nutritional regimen often required of athletes. To better understand why people who are overweight can still be athletic, let us break down the components of fitness itself: endurance, strength and flexibility.

1. Endurance
Some people are just natural athletes with stronger hearts and lungs despite the fact that they might be overweight. From marathon runners to swimmers and those who play team sports, there are plenty of people who are fit in a cardiovascular sense, even if they can't claim low body fat percentage.

2. Strength
Carrying extra weight in the form of fat doesn't preclude having strong muscles. Some of the most powerful athletes in the world -- sumo wrestlers for example -- can cruise through a serious weight workout that would be impossible for most of us.

3. Flexibility
Weight doesn't have a direct affect on flexibility unless a person's size makes it mechanically impossible to stretch the muscles they wish to train. Inactivity is much more likely to prevent good flexibility than will a few extra kilos. You will probably now understand why we make assumptions based on what we can see, which is the weight, rather than what we can't (their strength, endurance and flexibility).

Unfortunately, fitness assessments are based almost exclusively on appearance perception. Always remember if you're not currently exercising, you're not optimizing your health, regardless of how much you weigh.