LogFAQs > #957355043

Saying "you can be fat and healthy" might mean, to me, that one can harbor excess fat that by itself is not yet contributing measurably significant detriments to one's health. But this entirely depends on our definition of healthy. What are we comparing to? Average people? Or what your health and longevity could be, most optimally? Most often in this context it's only referring to "not developing any disease/syndrome."

And I think that's a shitty definition. If some kind of lifestyle influences longevity in such a way that slows aging and improves your lifespan, even without any effect on specific diseases, I'd say that lifestyle is more healthy than alternatives. Periods of caloric restriction / intermittent fasting demonstrably increase lifespan and longevity in model organisms and there's no reason to assume it's not true for humans.

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