We better shape up,

What's on inside counts.

If it really is what's on the inside that counts,then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.Some doctors think the internal fat surrounding vital organs like the heart,liver or pancreas-invisible to the naked eye- could be as dangerous as the more obvious external fat that bulges inderneath the skin.

Being thin doesn't automatically mean you're not fat,siad Dr Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial Nollege, London.Since 1994 ,Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines top create fat maps showing where people store fat.

According to the data ,people who maintain their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are otherwise slim.The whole concept of being fat needs to be redefined,said bell,whose research is funded by Britain 's Medical research council.

Without a clear warning signal -like a rounder middle -doctors worry thin people may be lulled into falsely assuming because they're not overweight ,the-re healthy.Just because someone is lean does not make them immune to diabetes opr other risk factors for heart disease,said Dr Louis Teichholz,chief cardiology at Hackensack hospital in New Jesrsey,who was not involved in Bell's research.

Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores-a standard obesity measure that divides your weight by the square of your height-can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside.

of the women sacanned by Bell and his colleagues ,as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25)had excessive levels of internla fat .Among men the [percentage was almost 60 percent.

The thinner people are ,the bigger the surprise ,he said adding the researchers even found TOFIS among people who are professional models.

According to Bell, people who are fat inside are essentially on the treshold of being obese.They eat too many fatty ,sugar foods-and exercise too little to work it off

This article was published in Florida Today.