# How Big Is ‘Obese’

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/wellbeing/body/how-big-is-obese/
- Published: 2014-01-02T05:00:46+11:00
- Author: Clare Whitfield

Some associate obesity with anyone who is overweight, which is not necessarily true.
Obesity is characterised by body mass which exceeds a certain percentage. Using 
the body mass index (BMI), a person’s weight in kilograms (kg) is divided by the
person’s height in metres (m) squared to equal the percentage range in which one’s
BMI should fall.

People that have a BMI of 30 or greater are generally considered obese, although
very muscular people (especially young males), children and teenagers can be exceptions
to this definition.

## **Normal Weight Obesity**

Normal weight obesity is a condition of having normal body weight, but high body
fat percentages and poses the same health risks as obesity.

## **Fat But Fit**

You’ve probably heard someone say, ‘I’m fat but fit.’ Several recent studies have
suggested this could be true, but a comprehensive review of these recent studies
has found that ‘healthy obesity’ is just a myth.

Scientists know that overweight people can be what they call ‘metabolically healthy.’
This means that despite having a high body mass index, someone can have a small 
waistline, normal blood pressure and low cholesterol levels, and show little to 
no risk for developing diabetes. The opposite is also true; thin people can be metabolically
unhealthy, with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and fat that accumulates only
around their middle.

The researchers evaluated the eight studies, which included a total of more than
60,000 participants. All of the studies had recorded participants’ BMI and their
metabolic status, as well as any fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events, such as
a heart attack.

## **The results**

As they expected, the researchers found that their control group – the normal weight,
metabolically healthy people – had the fewest cardiovascular events of all the groups.

They also found that being metabolically unhealthy puts you at a higher risk for
cardiovascular disease, even if you’re in the normal BMI range. In fact, the metabolically
unhealthy thin people had the same risk as the metabolically unhealthy obese group
in the short-term.

Perhaps more surprising was that they found little difference in the risk for heart
disease between metabolically healthy overweight individuals and metabolically healthy
normal weight people. The same was true for metabolically healthy obese people.

The Fat but Fit myth was busted as this study could monitor participants over a 
longer period, and has changed the way experts are looking at Fat but Fit patients,
previously not considered to be at a higher risk of obesity related disease and 
complications.

Generally speaking, the more body fat you’re carrying, the higher your health risk.
However, the amount of weight gained throughout your adult years also contributes
to the risk. For example, a middle-aged person who weighs 10 kg more than they did
in their early 20s has an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes
and coronary heart disease.

![author avatar](https://i0.wp.com/stayathomemum.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/
12/clare_whitfield_profile.webp?quality=80&ssl=1)

 Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

 Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical
home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney,
she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school 
age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience
in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

 [See Full Bio](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/clare_whitfield/) [  ](https://stayathomemum.com.au/author/clare_whitfield/)