A weight off my mind: I’m thrilled that I can be heavy and still healthy | Alexandra Heminsley

After years of guilt about her extra pounds, Alexandra Heminsley welcomes research into so-called fat but fit' middle-aged women

Ooh, you are a strong one, aren't you?" Words addressed to me this summer during a trial session with a potential new trainer. Words I was reminded of this week when it was revealed that 27% of women in the UK aged 40-50 are categorised as having metabolically healthy obesity" (MHO). Or, as is more commonly said, they're fat but fit".

When I read the research, made public last week by Professor Matthias Bluher at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Hamburg, I saw something of myself in it. Instead of the usual gnawing anxiety I experience when I get anywhere near the word fat", I felt something like relief. And I'm sure I'm not alone. At last, some evidence that carrying some extra weight is not synonymous with being lazy, weak or inactive - as is so often the assumption of many, among them both trainers and doctors.