Is your BMI misleading you? What ‘healthy obesity’ really means according to science

Sashaying down the catwalk in stratospheric heels for Dolce and Gabbana a year ago, supermodel Ashley Graham was a picture of health. “People think you lose and gain fat cells when you lose or gain weight,” he says, “but fat cells that sit just under the skin act like balloons, filling with fat and increasing with size as you gain weight.” open image in gallery Around 27 per cent of women aged 40 to 50 are ‘fat but fit’, according to the study Fat tucked away like this is relatively safe, but the amount of storage space in our cells can vary hugely from person to person. “That’s why some larger people will never get diabetes, while some skinny people will.” When it comes to body fat, location matters almost as much as quantity. In contrast, fat on the thighs and hips is less metabolically active and more benign.” Broadly speaking, if your waist circumference is more than your hips, you are at higher risk of metabolic disease, regardless of your sex Dr Giles Yeo Body shape is driven by genetics and hormones, Dr Berry says, and “male fat is more concentrated on the abdominal area while female fat tends to be laid down on the hips and thighs”. But this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to worry about losing weight if you are heavy but put the hours in at the gym At the diabetes conference, Prof Matthias Blüher from the University of Leipzig and Helmholtz Centre, in Munich, pointed to previous work that suggests people who are “healthy obese” still have a higher risk of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and heart failure than their counterparts in a normal weight range.