# The Morbidly Obese and Muscle Strength **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552 "2012-10-03T04:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/21 "2012-10-04T00:28:37Z")
You get the extra muscle from hauling your fat ass around. Once you get too fat to move, the muscle isn’t needed, and so your body sheds it because it’s metabolically expensive. Also, yes, fat guy strength is a well-known phenomenon among gym rats. Most big fat dudes don’t have to work too hard to get up to a bodyweight deadlift. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/22 "2012-10-04T02:36:12Z")
While the study I quoted found pretty clearly that > [@](#): > > the larger the body weight, the smaller the increase in SM mass (Fig.4 A). In other words, when expressed as a percentage of total body weight, there was a negative relationship between SM mass and body weight (Fig. 4 B). (SM = skeletal muscle) [Figure 4.](http://www.jappl.org/content/89/1/81/F4.expansion.html) it surely varies greatly between fit fat and the unfit fat. If someone is actually regularly hauling that mass out and about, up and down stairs, let alone actually doing things like dancing or jogging or even weights, (are fit, like **ZipperJJ** ) then they likely have more muscle mass. To the degree that they are fat because they are not doing those things and to the degree that being fat prevents them from doing those things (are unfit) they likely have less muscle mass. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/23 "2012-10-04T04:08:19Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Also, yes, fat guy strength is a well-known phenomenon among gym rats. Most big fat dudes don’t have to work too hard to get up to a bodyweight deadlift. Yeah, or work too hard to get up to a big bench-press either; considering that the bar only has to travel about an inch and a half down to the giant belly waiting for it to be bounced against. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/24 "2012-10-04T04:11:09Z")
“Obese” people are hugely variable in their activity levels. If you are reasonably active you will have some muscle mass as a result of hoisting your weight around, if you are largely sedentary then not so much and even moving is a struggle. As others have said if you lose the weight mainly through dieting, and do not exercise intensively and eat enough protein in your diet you will rapidly lose that muscle support mass while losing fat. The other issue is that muscle mass due to carrying/supporting a fat physique is usually not all that well toned and can do short bursts of strength, but quickly tires. I speak from experience in this. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/25 "2012-10-04T04:12:17Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yeah, or work too hard to get up to a big bench-press either; considering that the bar only has to travel about an inch and a half down to the giant belly waiting for it to be bounced against. You bench press to your belly not your chest? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/26 "2012-10-04T04:41:15Z")
> [@astro](#): > > You bench press to your belly not your chest? No. But I’m not a fat guy trying to “lift big” at the expense of lifting correctly, either. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/27 "2012-10-04T12:14:09Z")
> [@nion](#): > > I’ve always wondered about the muscle strength of morbidly obese people. Literally hundreds of pounds of fat is going to require some strength to tote around. So what would we have if say a man of average height but weighing about four hundred pounds woke up one morning to find himself at his ideal weight? Would his muscle mass also be average, or would he be ripped from years of carrying around what was essentially a second person? Thoughts? It seems as if what you are asking is this: If a large man suddenly lost all his fat but not any muscle mass, would he be a fairly strong guy? Let us assume this previously large man was mostly fat–i.e., not a muscle builder–but could get up and walk around reasonably well–i.e., was not bed-bound. In that scenario, we know that his legs could at least support his prior total weight. If he could squat and get up before, and now he suddenly weighs only 180 pounds, then he is now strong enough to squat and lift 220 extra pounds on his shoulders. And so on. Various other muscles might be pretty weak. He might not, for instance, be able to actually hold that 220 pounds very well. He might not be able to do a pushup. In actual circumstance, as mentioned above, weight loss reduces muscle mass along with fat. Muscle strength varies quite a bit in the obese. You will notice that quite a few active fat people–men, especially–have fabulous calf muscles. But many fat people tend to use their skeletal systems for support and their muscles serve mostly to keep them balanced. Many are barely able to do much more than shuffle along til they get to the nearest Walmart motorized cart. If they go down, they stay down. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/28 "2012-10-04T12:38:26Z")
[Here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/236/if-i-get-my-heart-pumping-with-caffeine-is-that-good-aerobic-exercise)’s a classic Straight Dope column dealing with this question (see second paragraph of the response). ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/29 "2012-10-04T12:45:40Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Muscle strength varies quite a bit in the obese. You will notice that quite a few active fat people–men, especially–have fabulous calf muscles. But many fat people tend to use their skeletal systems for support and their muscles serve mostly to keep them balanced. Many are barely able to do much more than shuffle along til they get to the nearest Walmart motorized cart. If they go down, they stay down. I’m a somewhat active fat guy, weighing in at 220, about 5’8". I walk everywhere (no car) - so that’s at least 30 minutes a day, hit the gym every now and then, take the stairs at work, and will do light stuff like throwing a football around, playing frisbee, or whatever. My calves are ridiculously big and buff, if you saw me from the knees down, you might think I’m an Olympian. I managed to make it to the gym this morning for 1 hour, 3 1/4 mile walk on the treadmill on a 5 degree incline. That’s a normal workout for me, and I have to think that hauling my big ole gut around doing stuff like that is why my calves are so shredded. Now if I could just get the rest of my body to look like that… ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/30 "2012-10-04T17:58:57Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Muscle strength varies quite a bit in the obese. You will notice that quite a few active fat people–men, especially–have fabulous calf muscles. I’m ex-obese and I have fantastic calfs from a lifetime of being fat. I don’t bother with lower body when I am lifting… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/31 "2012-10-04T18:02:27Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > I’m ex-obese and I have fantastic calfs from a lifetime of being fat. I don’t bother with lower body when I am lifting… 😃 Same here (well not ex-obese). I said earlier that my thighs and glutes are huge but my calves are well-defined and muscular as well. I’ve never had a “cankle” (I’m a woman…I think women are more prone to cankles?) That’s why I decided to get my tattoo up the inside of my ankle/calf - it’s one of the few places on me that never changes shape or size. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/32 "2012-10-04T18:51:20Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > What about the (Japanese) “Sumo” wrestlers? They are enormous, but physically powerful. > Incidentally, does anybody know what these guys do when they retire? Go on a massive weight loss program? I hear many of them die young. Many die young, actually. However, during their career, many are both strong and have a lot of fat on their bodies. It makes them incredibly powerful. I think they have a very tough diet and workout system to make them stay at that level. It can’t be too good for the heart, though. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/33 "2012-10-04T19:58:39Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yeah, or work too hard to get up to a big bench-press either; considering that the bar only has to travel about an inch and a half down to the giant belly waiting for it to be bounced against. Indeed. There can also be an advantage in lifts like squats and cleans, where the belly pushes against the thighs and adds leverage. There is also a phenomenon called “intramuscular leverage”, where (IIRC) a muscle with higher fat levels can develop higher force levels because the muscle fibers can squeeze against the fat and contract harder. I only read about it once, in a powerlifting manual, and I can’t find an online cite. So take that FWIW. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552/34 "2012-10-06T04:43:20Z")
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all the great replies! 🙂 I’ve enjoyed reading all of them so far. Also, congrats to all those that have won the battle of the bulge! No easy task, I know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-morbidly-obese-and-muscle-strength/636552.md?page=1)