I for some time now have been telling my patients, "it's better to be Fat and Fit then to be Thin but a couch potato."

I'm constantly trying to educate patients to exercise for the sake of being fit and feeling better, not just to lose weight.  Sure, weight lose is a natural byproduct of exercise and healthy eating but that should not be the driving force. 

With recent studies suggesting that people with a little extra weight actually having lower all cause death rates

(Cause-Specific Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity-JAMA)

and

This study supporting that being fit is more important than actual body weight

(Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Adiposity as Mortality Predictors in Older Adults)

I think we may be seeing a shift in American healthcare away from the "Loss weight at all cost" mentality.  Constant fad diets and schemes to "melt" away fat abound in our image conscience society.  But do they improve our mental or physical health.  I just somehow doubt it. 

We are physical creatures and before long, hopefully, we will understand the importance of movement and exercise and not worry so much about the extra weight.