Fat and healthy

Maltese people think they are fat and healthy, writes Jane Tucker:

An interesting survey done by the National Statistics Office of the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta has come up with some fascinating findings about how overweight and obese people perceive themselves. The results of the survey showed that 62 percent of men and women said that they thought of their physical health as being good however at the same time 62 percent of people in Malta are either overweight or obese.

This clearly means that many overweight and obese individuals are under the impression that their health can be classified as good if they are overweight when in fact most doctors and health professionals would argue that the simple fact of being overweight means that you are not healthy.

A lot of overweight people however say that just because they have a BMI of 25+ does not necessarily mean that they suffer from hypertension, diabetes or lack of fitness which so often accompanies extra weight. In fact in some cases overweight individuals have perfect health markers despite the extra weight.

Nevertheless overweight people must be honest with themselves and realise that they are putting themselves in a higher risk bracket for suffering from many different illnesses. The older you are when you are overweight the more likely you are to suffer from a weight related illness. In some societies, (Malta included) it is not socially unacceptable to be a little overweight and therefore it is normal to have a few extra kilograms on your frame...