Is it possible to be overweight and yet be fit? This is a million dollar question which crosses in a million minds but only creates more confusion. With BMI measurements domination the fitness industry we feel mostly discouraged and don’t get that exact measurement of fitness.
BMI is the Body Mass Index which is nothing but the height to weight ratio measurement. It’s a narrow measurement and a general assessment of approximate healthy weight requirement, but it differs for different people. For example athletes may have high BMI even though they are the fittest. Immediately after your workout session if you measure BMI it would be little high due to water and sweat content. For muscular people their BMI may be higher due to muscle weight and so on. BMI should be considered as a general assessment to set a healthy weight goal but should not be the primary concern for achieving fitness.
So we are still wondering about the question, “Can you can still be fit in spite of being overweight?” Being overweight isn’t advisable due to many reasons. More weight puts more pressure on knees thereby causing knee’s health issues, gives rise to diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure and many heart diseases. Excess weight puts pressure on your lungs and arteries thereby making you short of breath. But at the same time measuring fitness based on weight alone isn’t the right approach.
A person may be fit in spite of being overweight in many cases. For example a weight lifter may be over weight and may have high BMI but he/she is overall fit than many others whose BMI is perfect, because a weight lifter has more muscles mass than body fat. Our body weight also depends on what kind of exercises we do and what type of lifestyle we follow.
Our goal should be to focus on fitness rather than on weight unless otherwise prescribed by a doctor. Our fitness should be judged on the basis of our stamina, our general health like normal blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, immunity, blood flow within the body and also our positive mental health.
There is no excuse for being overweight but judging fitness based only on body weight isn’t accurate either. If we are following regular exercise routine and healthy eating with balanced nutrition we should not worry too much about weight because after all good health and happiness matters the most.
Health tip of the week
“Work towards achieving overall fitness rather than measuring it on the scales”.
References:
Tamara says
My goal is to be healthy. Someone can be small or large and not be healthy.
Gunjan says
I agree Tamara. I feel the same way.