Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto reviewed eight studies conducted between 1950 and 2013, and found obese people who were otherwise healthy were still more likely to die prematurely or have a heart attack or stroke in the long term than healthy normal-weight individuals, CBS News reports.

The researchers conclude the notion of being overweight and healthy is nothing more than a myth.

Individuals who are overweight or obese and don’t engage in enough physical activity are at risk for what’s called “metabolic syndrome,” a name for a group of risk factors that raise a person’s chances of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

People need at least three of the following risk factors to be diagnosed with metabolic disease, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: a large “apple shape” waistline, high triglyceride levels (a type of fat found in the blood), low HDL “good” cholesterol, high blood pressure and high fasting blood sugar (a potential early sign of diabetes).

The researchers focused on people who didn’t have these metabolic risk factors but still had high BMIs -- a ratio of height over weight -- that classified them as overweight (BMI 20-25) or obese (BMI >30). 

The study revealed obese people without metabolic health issues were still nearly 25 percent more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or die after 10 years than people who were normal weight.

Although the study only looked at cardiovascular events and death, obesity also increases risk for Type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, come cancers, orthopedic problems, depression, asthma, sleep apnea, reproductive woes, skin infections and cognitive decline. Therefore, doctors shouldn’t only treat obese people showing signs of metabolic dysfunction and disease.