For decades, thinness has been equated with beauty, and, of course, good health. But the results of recent medical research studies have thrown a wrench into this blanket mindset. We all know that being signifcantly overweight increases our chances of contracting diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and high blood pressure, so thin women have often been off the hook- thinking it won’t happen to them. But the bad news is that even thin women are susceptible to these deadly diseases if they don’t eat right and exercise.
A study published in the October issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism looked at a group of women who had normal body weight but exemplified some of the characteristics of “Metabolic Syndrome”, a group of abnormalities related to the metabolism which are usually associated with obesity. These normal weight women had less muscle tissue than expected, higher percentages of bodyfat even though they were “thin”, low physical activity levels, poor cardiovascular fitness and high cholesterol levels. Most disturbing was the fact that these women did not think about the importance of eating healthy or exercising because they were normal weight. Does this sound like anyone you know?
If you, or anyone you know, has been fooling themselves into thinking that they don’t need to eat well or exercise because they are “thin enough”- enlighten them before it’s too late.
