A week or so ago, I saw a professor who had taught a class I attended in 1999 or 2000. I believe it was a seminar in aging. I was completing my post baccalaureate certificate in Gerontology at the time. In fact, the courses that I took in order to receive that 'degree' are ones that changed my personal approach to health. I learned that what one does in their 20s and 30s has everything to do with what they will be able to do in their 80s. I changed my lifestyle then and have never once faltered. No periods of time without daily exercise and no yo yo dieting or weight fluctuations. Prior to 1999, I had been pretty much like everyone else. I went on a "diet" to lose the ten or twenty pounds I put on by eating just whatever the hell was in front of me. I often ate enough to give myself a belly ache. I exercised only in spurts. I like who I am today so much better.
Anyways, this professor was overweight 13 years ago - perhaps she was obese. I do not remember her having any physical limitations, she was just over fat. When I saw her recently, now in her 50s or 60s, it was as she was entering a room. She walked in hunched over and leaning heavily upon a very large walking stick. She was taking small, hesitant, heavy steps.
My reason for sharing this it to make the point that even if a person does not show evidence of metabolic syndrome due to obesity, being overweight is unhealthy. This woman was clearly disabled. [of course, her difficulty ambulating could be caused by something else, but being overweight surely exacerbates it]
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