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Professor Steven Blair from the University of South Carolina - Source: Close Up -
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A leading obesity researcher is condemning what he calls the "obesity mafia" - the health professionals who say that being overweight will lead to serious health complications.
Professor Steven Blair from the University of South Carolina said the concept is a myth, and that having excess weight does not mean people are setting themselves up for an early death.
Obesity is a serious concern in New Zealand, and its effects are viewed as a looming burden on the health system.
But Blair says good health is directly related to exercise, and that just because people are significantly overweight does not mean they aren't fit and healthy.
"I'm 71, I'm fat and I'm fit and I'm running about 50 kilometres a week," he told Mark Sainsbury on Close Up.
"The obesity epidemic is hyped and exaggerated. Obesity rates have gone up and that is not a good public health sign. But the weakness in some of the arguments about obesity and health is that much of the research simply ignores physical activity.
And while he admitted obesity is not entirely problem-free, Blair said nay-sayers to his theory would need solid proof before he would entertain their ideas.
"I know they don't like it, they protest, they say that I'm wrong. I say 'do proper studies, collect data and show that I'm wrong'."
Blair stopped short of saying the public is being conned by health professionals, but thought the facts were being skewed.
"In general the public is being misled with the constant focus on obesity. It's just not true when you take activity or fitness into account.
"Objective measures of activity or a laboratory measure of fitness is just far more important as a health indicator than is your body size and shape."
He did concede there were exceptions.
"I don't think fitness would eliminate the health hazards of those who are really in the extremely high weight categories."
Putting three women to the test
Blair's claims were placed under the microscope by Close Up, who tested the health of three women - two of whom are considered overweight or obese.
Shelley Geenty, 41, said she would "probably be categorised as obese" but has been exercising five days a week for the last three months.
"I would like to let people know that you can be this big and still be active and fit. I'm not concerned about losing weight, I'm concerned about being fit."
Ginny Everett, 32, also acknowledged she is on the large side. But she does jump-jam sessions at her child's primary school, sees a personal trainer and is training for a half marathon.
Both women agreed to blood tests, as did Close Up reporter Gill Higgins, whose weight is considered normal. Higgins admits she does a lot less exercise than the other women.
The results for blood pressure were positive for all three, regardless of size. But when it came to cholesterol, there was a significant difference. According to Professor Rod Jackson from Auckland University, Ginny's heart age was that of a 50-year-old woman and Shelley's a 52-year-old. Reporter Gill's heart age forecast was less than that of her 44 years.
Ginny had a 7% risk of developing a cardiovascular problem, Shelley had a 2% risk and Gill a mere 1%.
Ultimately though, Jackson had a much different message to the fitness mantra of Blair.
"You can still be OK if you're fat, but food is 80% of problem, fitness is 20%."
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