As far as popular notions go, the absence of a bulging waistline is immediately associated with being fit. Walk into a room with a belly that announces your arrival before the rest of you, and chances are people will question your lack of fitness. Then along comes Shimron Hetmyer, the West Indian and Rajasthan Royals cricketer, who set a new world record by hitting 19 sixes in a single tournament at the just-concluded ICC T20 World Cup. Beyond his batting, he showcased impressive athleticism in the field by pulling off multiple catches, including three in the Super Eight clash against India.
The catch that got rid of Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav required Hetmyer to take a few steps backwards, jump up and reach high above his head before landing on his back and taking a tumble. At that instance, his beer- and barbecue-happy mid-riff was on full display as his jersey slid up. But it only underscored the sheer athleticism of the West Indian who will be in action in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
A flat abdomen or lean body frame is often interpreted as a sign of good health, but medically, these visual indicators alone do not define fitness, says Dr Brahm Datt Pathak, senior director for gastrointestinal, minimal access and bariatric surgery, Fortis Hospital, Faridabad. Like Hetmyer, there are heavy-weight boxers, strongman competitors, shot-put throwers and defenders and blockers in American football among others who don’t have flat tummies and defy the widely accepted definition of what it means to be athletic and fit. And yet, we continue to attach too much importance to the waistline.
“Society has historically associated thinness with discipline, beauty, and health. Media representation, social conditioning, and, more recently, social media have reinforced the idea that a lean body is the ultimate symbol of wellness. This perception often overlooks the fact that health is multi-dimensional,” explains Pathak.
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Dhruva Sivakumar, a fitness expert at Cult, attributes this tendency to interpret “leanness as fitness” to the western world’s bodybuilding culture and big-budget commercial cinema. “Heroes flaunt their six-pack which is treated like a badge of honour. This physique is often achieved through extreme dehydration and temporary diets which are not sustainable and opposite of being healthy,” says Sivakumar. Also, looking lean doesn’t automatically mean someone is actually fit.
A person may appear lean but still have higher body fat percentage and low muscle mass, adds Ankita Matondkar, associate consultant at the department of sports medicine and rehabilitation, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai. Conversely, a person with some belly fat can still be strong and active if they train regularly and maintain healthy habits, she adds. According to Sivakumar, the real indicators of fitness and athleticism are mobility, functional strength, recovery and endurance.
The real indicators of fitness and athleticism according to Sivakumar are mobility, functional strength, recovery and endurance. Over and above that, true fitness also reflects how well the body functions internally. “Factors such as cardiovascular endurance, metabolic health, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and lipid profile provide a far more reliable picture. Many individuals who appear slim may have poor metabolic health or sedentary lifestyles. Therefore, outward appearance should not be mistaken for genuine physiological fitness,” says Pathak. Matondkar, however, warns that this doesn’t mean people with bigger waistlines can celebrate or fool themselves into thinking that they are fit. “Excessive belly fat is not healthy and increases the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular problems,” she says.
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Despite having a belly, you can be fit as long as you do the right things such as eating right and exercising enough. “Anyone can be fit and athletic if they are mobile, can move painlessly through a full range of motion, possess functional strength, like lifting their own body weight, and recover quickly after a sprint or run, returning to normal breathing,” says Sivakumar. “If someone has these qualities, irrespective of having a belly or enjoying the occasional weekend pint, they can be considered fit and athletic,” he confirms making it clear that it is possible to be fit and fat at the same time.
As for larger athletes like Hetmyer, it’s best to assess them by their sporting performance rather than their body fat percentage or their looks. “A heavy weight boxer can fight for more than six rounds at high intensity, while an American football blockers sprints at maximum speed during the game and shot- put throwers rely on a lot of power to throw the metal ball to the furthest distance,” says Sivakumar. “Lamentably, there is a huge confusion between having lower body fat and having a lean body with six-pack over being healthy and performing well in sports.”
Athletes in power-based sports often have larger body frames because their disciplines demand high muscle mass and strength. Their larger body mass often helps regenerate more power, strength and stability, which is essential for performance, explains Matondkar. “Their physical conditioning, endurance training, and performance capacity often exceed that of an average individual. Judging fitness purely on body size would therefore be misleading. In sports medicine, functional performance, strength, stamina, and physiological resilience are far more relevant indicators than body shape alone,” adds Pathak.
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There is an urgent need to rethink our attitude and interpretation of what being fit actually means. In real life, getting a flat tummy and six-pack is easier than maintaining them. Our body, including the mid-riff, and the way it looks changes constantly depending on how much and what we eat and drink, the way we sleep, work and workout. While looking fit is certainly a marker of a healthy lifestyle, it shouldn’t become an obsession, suggests Matondkar. Sivakumar feels that rather than celebrating losing weight on the weighing scale, we should start chasing performance goals like doing maximum pull ups, running 5km under 25 minutes or moving pain-free and building functional strength.
For Pathak, the urgent issue here is the growing need to shift the conversation from appearance-driven fitness to health-driven fitness. “The emphasis should be on sustainable lifestyle practices such as regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and long-term metabolic health. At the same time, a condition like obesity should be recognised and treated for what it truly is, which is a chronic disease rather than merely a cosmetic or lifestyle issue,” he notes. Greater awareness through public health education and responsible media narratives, Pathak believes, can help people move away from superficial body image standards and focus on genuine health and functional wellbeing.
Moreover, occasional lifestyle indulgences such as a weekend drink may not necessarily negate overall fitness if balanced with regular physical activity and responsible dietary habits. The larger picture of consistent healthy behaviour remains key. So, don’t be shocked if Hetmyer pulls off a few more stunning acts of fielding and power-hitting during the IPL while also enjoying a good time on his days off.
Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.
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