That’s the question asked by Australian fitness and wellness expert Rosemary Marchese.
“It’s a commonly held misunderstanding that fat people are unfit and unhealthy,” comments Rosemary.
“We should reflect on the fact that being thin can also lead to sick, unhealthy bodies. Society should be asking ‘if fat is so bad, why aren’t all obese and overweight people dying early and why aren’t all thin people living long healthy lives?”
According to Rosemary, there’s more than the number on the scales that determines if someone is unhealthy or unfit.
Overweight people, and sometimes even obese people (according to the categorisation currently used by authorities such as the World Health Organisation) can sometimes have better metabolic health than thin people, she says.
When some scientists have dug deeper to find out why, they have found these people often have better functioning mitochondria – the powerhouses of the cell that enable a body to absorb nutrients, break them down and create energy rich molecules for the cell.
Weight is not the only indicator of health but that’s what the population is using to measure health, adds Rosemary.
An advocate for fitness being a priority in everyone’s life, Rosemary – author of The Fit, Busy Mum: seven habits for success – feels society needs to be educated about the incredible value of fitness, and the science behind being under or overweight, rather than getting swept up in diet fads and just watching the scales.
“I’ve watched women in particular fall into the ‘fat trap of motherhood’, when they put everyone in their family before themselves. This includes not prioritising exercise and not always eating well – despite often providing well for their families.
“The ‘fat trap’ is a mental and physical one – they can’t seem to shift the weight they want to shift but they are also so obsessed with the scales that they are trying to lose weight any way they can. Unfortunately it’s not always the healthy way.
“Kids want their parents to be around for a long time, and fitness and wellbeing is crucial to this. It’s easy to get trapped due to tiredness, the rush of life that comes with ‘mother guilt’ and wanting to be everything to everyone,” states Rosemary.
“I’m a mum to three busy kids, and like everyone, I do admit to having moments when I can’t be stuffed to exercise or prepare a meal from scratch.
To help everyone beat the fat trap, Rosemary offers the following advice:
- Make fitness a priority – the improvement to your energy levels alone will pay dividends to you and your family
- Use good nutrition to fuel your body and to be a role model for your family
- Invest in sleep
- Beware the health food aisle – not everything is as healthy as the aisle claims, the best health food aisle is the fruit and vegetable section
- Reduce sugar intake – to reduce liver fat, slow down cell ageing and improve brain function.
The Fit, Busy Mum; seven habits for success ($29.95 rrp) provides easy to follow inspiration that helps readers identify opportunities and habits that can put them on the path to success in all areas of life. Available from all good book stores.
