There is a lot of controversy surrounding recently released studies that seem to indicate that excess body fat may not be all bad. In fact, in some groups, obese people tend to live longer as their body fat may be protective of them in some ways. For most of us, that flies completely in the face of every other news report out there – is it true or not? Do we need to lose weight or can we just stop with the constant running the treadmill to get to the ideal body weight?
What’s the skinny?
The skinny, or the trick in this case, is that one of the greatest problems an overweight person faces is inflammation of the organs and internal systems. However, by taking fish oil supplements an obese person may be able to reverse or at least greatly reduce the inflammation. That’s good news – because before the alternatives seemed to be just lose weight, lose weight and wait for it – lose weight. Now doctors can test the body’s levels and determine how many grams of fish oil you need to add to your diet in order to reduce inflammation.
So no more losing weight?
Not exactly, while treating silent inflammation is on the way and it certainly provides the overweight and obese patients suffering from the condition with some methods to get their condition in check – it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still try to maintain a healthy body weight by eating a well-balanced diet and exercising regularly. Losing weight is still a better goal than just taking more fish oil.
And while, I grant you, we can get fish oil in pills and the like – the idea of increasing the amount of fish oil does sound – well – fishy. So yes, there are some new reports and studies being released and there is some data out there that suggests that just because you are overweight or obese doesn’t mean you can’t live long and healthy. But there are always exceptions to every rule and just being overweight doesn’t mean you aren’t healthy – but losing the excess weight isn’t a bad plan either.
Frankly, I’m just glad to read about something that isn’t all doom and gloom for a change. What do you think about silent inflammation and obesity?