While there is no guarantee that being thin is already being fit, a new study reveals that it is highly more improbably to be fat and still be fit. Some obese people might not experience the common negative health outcomes of being fat such as high blood pressure or high level of blood sugar, but they are also at risk of kidney disease.
According to a large Korean study, obese people are 6.7 times more likely to have kidney problems for every 1000 people for over five years compared to people of normal weight. Being overweight but not obese is is also linked to 3.5 times more risk to get kidney disease.
In an email to Reuters, Dr. Yoosoo Chang of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital asserted that obese people who are currently not suffering from diseases yet should not be complacent. This does not mean they are already healthy. "Obese individuals who are considered 'healthy' because they don't currently have heart disease or metabolic risk factors should not be assumed healthy," Chang said. "The presence of obesity appears to be enough to increase a person's risk of future chronic kidney disease as well as other obesity-associated diseases including heart disease," Chang added.
Chang said that regardless of other studies found, particularly those that assert the concept of "metabolically healthy obesity," everyone should be mindful of staying within the healthy and normal range of weight. Everyone should engage in a lifestyle that will prevent obesity and its associated complications, Chang said.
The study also revealed that the relationship between obesity and kidney disease is more apparent among those above 40 years of age.
In a related news by the National Post, a healthy diet might not be enough to prevent one from becoming obese. According to a new study, obesity is more likely triggered by a genetic light switch and not a person's eating habits. The switch is so strong that a person can be doomed to a lifetime of obesity, no matter his or her eating patterns. Interestingly, the study reveals that a person can be obese because of this switch but his or her twin remains normal and they both eat the same time.