An obesity expert has slammed the idea that being overweight is always linked to serious health problems.

Professor Stephen Blair, from the University of South Carolina, says that the link between early death and obesity is a myth.

“I'm 71, I'm fat and I'm fit and I'm running about 50 kilometres a week,” the Professor told reporters.

"The obesity epidemic is hyped and exaggerated. Obesity rates have gone up and that is not a good public health sign. But the weakness in some of the arguments about obesity and health is that much of the research simply ignores physical activity.”

Professor Blair’s main message seems to be that there are exceptions to the rule. Being large in size does not always mean being unhealthy. Nonetheless he concedes that severely obese people are not able to maintain good health. The Professor warned people against listening to the “obesity mafia,” who he believes use scaremongering tactics to encourage weight loss.

Self-labelled “fat campaigners” have emerged in recent years to fight what they see as fat prejudice.

Striking a balance

While experts agree that weight discrimination exists, some are also concerned that, due to fear of offending, doctors may be less than frank with obese people about the problems they face. Obesity can cause cancers, heart disease and diabetes. A study just published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that the risk of death doubles in men and women with large waists.

This week one of Britain’s top GPs, Steve Field, warned that many of us are condemning ourselves to an “early grave” by over eating, smoking and drinking too much.

The evidence is all around. There is the dramatic increase in diabetes, much of it related to obesity.