Overweight and healthy is a big fat lie, obesity study finds

Research suggests that a physically active lifestyle cannot negate the negative health effects of being overweight

Joggers who jiggle should stop fooling themselves: the idea that you can be chubby but healthy is false, a study suggests.

The debate has raged for years: is it better to be a stout sportsperson who regularly exercises, or can you expect fewer health problems if you are sedentary but skinny?

Research from Spain comes down on the side of the lissom and lazy. “One cannot be fat but healthy,” Alejandro Lucia, of the European University in Madrid, who led the study, said.

“Our findings refute the notion that a physically active lifestyle can completely negate the deleterious effects of [being] overweight and obesity.”

It had previously been suggested that being physically active might mitigate the negative effects of excess body weight.