What is fitness?

Yes to both questions, especially the latter. Skinny does not equal fit or healthy by any means.

One can be skinny and not healthy – be a smoker, have a disease, etc.

One can be chubby and be healthy at the present, but one will have a greater chance of health problems in the future, statistically. Greater chance of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint replacements, heart problems, Syndrome X, etc.

I also think The OP will get better responses to this question if it’s worded better. More specifics in the question itself, like “can you be chubby and still be healthy, and can you be skinny and be unhealthy?”

A secretary where I used to work had a very thin appearance. When she checked her body fat she was 50% fat. She was thin-looking yet over fat and definitely not physically fit.

Skinny definitely does not necessarily mean healthy or fit.

Chubby usually means if not now then in the future health problems related to weight are likely.

I know trainers and other people who simply workout a lot and ate very lean and muscular and I worry they are going to drop dead young from heart disease. Quite a few of my friends who do this to somewhat of an extreme have extremely high cholesterol and terrible cholesterol ratios, and their doctors warn them their eating habits are scary. They seem very healthy at the moment if you just look at them and even talk to them. Many of them are very up beat, they seem so confident and strong. However, the two friends I have who do work out to what I consider an extreme still get colds way more often than I do and I could stand to lose 10–15 pounds, exercise more, and have a little more muscle mass. Not all body builders have high cholesterol, but I tell all people who focus on eating lots of animal protein to get their levels checked.

I posed this question a personal trainer friend. She said that fitness (including what you eat) was far more important than how much fat you carried around. In addition, although I’m 40 lbs overweight, because of the kinds of foods I eat (healthy fats-coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil), little junk food, etc. I’m healthier than someone who lives a similar lifestyle, but weighs less and eats lousy food. In fact, my doctor confirmed that last week.

Most people seem to think that being overweight means you eat a lot of “bad” foods. I firmly believe that no food is “bad,” but I’m referring to foods that are considered unhealthy – sweets, fried foods, etc. – food with little nutritional value, I guess. And, while that may be true in many cases, it’s not the only explanation for being overweight. Sure, there are medical conditions that cause weight gain, but that’s not what I’m talking about either.

Weight is calories in vs. calories out, regardless of what you’re eating. If you eat less calories than your body is burning, you lose weight. If you eat the amount of calories your body is burning, you maintain your weight. If you eat more calories than your body is burning, you gain weight. Period, that’s it, simple as that. Many people seem truly baffled that they’re overweight because they eat “healthy” foods – good fats, fruits and vegetables, lean protein, etc. The thing is, you can certainly become overweight by eating these healthy foods. Even if you never eat a single drive-thru cheeseburger or glazed donut, you are still eating more calories than your body is burning if you’re gaining weight.

I also think it’s important to make the distinction between health and fitness. They’re not the same thing, though they are related. Fitness isn’t about how well you eat, it’s about what your body can do – it’s your physical condition. Nutrition is about what goes in your mouth, but fitness is about your body and its abilities as well as things like body fat percentage, lean muscle mass, etc. Optimum health is achieved by having a balance of good nutrition and good fitness, but they don’t always go together.