The health benefits of a lower body weight and more muscular body composition are well reported in the scientific literature. In particular, the risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced with reduced body fat, and this relates largely to the concomitant reduction in blood pressure that goes hand in hand with a lower body weight. The risk of other diseases such as arthritis and blood sugar disorders also increase as body weight increases. Being overweight is therefore usually unhealthy and as body weight increases the risk of mortality increases. In addition, as body weight increases the risk of morbidity also increases. However, as skeletal muscle mass increases the risk of death decrease, particularly in the elderly. Improving the body composition therefore statistically at least reduces your risk of death and improves the quality of life. For this reason I would always encourage people to attempt to maintain their normal body weight and for those who are overweight, I would always encourage them to improve their body composition.
However, it is important to understand that some are happy being overweight. In fact, the science regarding overweight individual shows that in some cases, they can be just as healthy if not more so that normal weight individuals. While there are few studies in this area, those that have been performed suggest that happiness in life is a significant factor in health and longevity. In other words people who are miserable but normal body weight may not be at much of a health advantage compared to those who are overweight but happy. Mental stress, of which unhappiness is a symptom, is a significant factor in mortality risk, and so being happy and stress free may play an important role in maintaining health. Would taking a person who is overweight but happy, and making them miserable by forcing them to lose weight, really improve the health of that individual? It may depend just how overweight they are. However, I would not underestimate the importance of happiness in health and longevity.
Is being overweight unhealthy if you are also happy? Studies are lacking, but certainly those who are overweight but not obese, might be at no disadvantage compared to normal weight but less happy individuals. Improving your body composition will likely improve your health and increase the quality of your life. For most this is desirable and the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. However, weight loss is not for everyone and those who are happy but overweight with no desire to lose weigh should not be pressured into a situation that might make them unhappy.
I would therefore suggest that fat loss is not for everyone. If you are overweight but happy, and do not wish to lose weight, do not feel compelled to attempt this through social and peer pressure. If you do, you certainly run the risk of creating a situation where you become unhappy through the desire to accomplish the expectations of others, despite having no desire yourself. However, more importantly, those who do not wish to lose weight will most likely not succeed as their hearts will not be behind their efforts. Fat loss is not as difficult as most people envisage, but it still requires discipline and determination to succeed at long term body composition improvements. Without a desire to succeed it will not be possible to be successful and so the effort, which would more likely be a token effort, would be wasted. Therefore if pressure from a doctor, friend or family forces you to decide to try to lose weight, but your heart is not in it, I would seriously consider whether it is worth the effort, and possible miserly, it may cause you.
RdB
