Fit and fat
Thin ≠ fit.
Fat ≠ unfit.
It is impossible to tell if a person is “fit” just by looking at them.
Likewise, it is impossible to tell if someone has high cholesterol or diabetes by appearance alone.
We have what some people might call a bias (and what I would call fat phobia) to believe that thin = fit and fat = out of shape. That’s just how we’ve been conditioned: to hate fat and see it in a negative light.
I can’t tell you the number of times people have come into my Nia class and looked me up and down in judgement. I’m fairly certain I’ve lost teaching gigs because of my size. Fat phobia, friends.
At the same time, there are an equally high number of times where I am the fattest person in the class while also being the most athletic, flexible and strongest one in the room.
Research shows that fat people can have a relatively high level of fitness along with many biological markers of good health (normal blood glucose levels, normal blood pressure, high-functioning lipid metabolism) as long as they maintain a consistent physical fitness program.
So it’s really fitness that is a better indicator of health than weight.
Weight ≠ fitness level. Fat ≠ unfit. Thin ≠ fit.
Photo by: Mopo Photography.