It’s something that nearly everyone thinks: you have to be thin to be healthy. While this might be true for some people, it obviously isn’t true for everyone. What you should really concern yourself are factors like where the fat in your body is stored, how much and what type of cholesterol you have and many other factors that don’t take into account how big or small you are. Read this article to find out what really makes you healthy.
Fat Storage
Having fat under your skin can be unsightly and it can lead to certain problems, but this is hardly the factor that really causes diabetes and heart disease. Fat is a major factor for these and other diseases, but it matters where the fat is stored. If fat is stored under the skin, then you should probably workout to help get rid of it, but you aren’t essential unhealthy.
Fat storage within the organs and deeper tissues is a much bigger factor that coincides with high disease and mortality rates. This fat is what really affects the body, and it’s unfortunately the hardest to control. Men are more likely to store fat in deeper tissues, and genetics largely determine how much fat you store deep within the body.
It has actually been found that about 50 percent of those with average weights and BMIs have the same propensity for these diseases that larger people have because of where the fat is stored.
Cholesterol Levels
Doctors used to judge your cardiovascular health based on the total amount of cholesterol you had. While you shouldn’t have a very high total cholesterol level, what really matters is the LDL, or bad cholesterol, levels. Having a high amount of HDL, or good cholesterol, might lead to some health problems, but the chances of that are significantly lower than having a high amount of LDL.
Stop Looking at Pounds
Everyone has a different body type. It’s impossible to say that everyone would be healthy at 150 pounds. For example, would someone at 4’9” with a very small body frame be healthy at 150 pounds? Not at all. It’s not just about what the average body weight is, nor is it about the BMI. The BMI is a flawed process because it only pays attention to a person’s height and weight. It doesn’t take into account how much muscle and fat that person has. Under the BMI, most professional football players and wrestlers are considered obese.
The thing that really matters is your total body fat percentage. Many people with a healthy weight actually have a significant amount of body fat, and this can lead to a premature death and other problems. A healthy body fat for women is between 21 to 36 percent. Men should be around 8 to 25 percent. These percentages are based on the person’s age.
Fit and Fat
Have you ever heard of the fit and fat category of people? Many athletes fit within this category, and it really has nothing to do with being thin or fat. These are people that are overweight by conventional standards, but they have less than 30 percent body fat and their blood chemistry is normal and healthy.
If you are honestly considered about your health, then you shouldn’t hop on the scale as a judge of your well being. You should get a blood test to see if your fat, triglycerides and cholesterol levels are all within order. There are many people are that considered obese by normal standards, but they are actually quite healthy.
Conclusion
Many people look at a person’s frame and body weight to judge health, but this is a flawed system. Some people are “blessed” with a small body frame and a propensity to shed pounds, but many others are not. Being larger, or even conventionally overweight, doesn’t make you unhealthy. What does make you unhealthy is having too much body fat, a high LDL cholesterol level and having fat stored deep within the body.
It’s next to impossible to judge these factors without a blood test. If you want to know if you are healthy or not, then go to a doctor and get a real test done. The scale only tells you how much you weigh. It does not tell you if you are healthy or not, and you shouldn’t fall for this ploy.
Author Bio
Christina Roberts writes for Short Term Health Insurance, a company helping people find unemployed health insurance. Call for Temporary medical insurance quotes and see how Short Term Health Insurance can help you.