It’s not the size of your body — it’s how you move it.

New research out of the United Kingdom appears to confound conventional wisdom regarding the link between health and weight, with over a quarter of middle-aged British women and nearly one in 10 men of the same age currently falling into the category of “metabolically healthy obesity.”

Simply put, this means that while their body mass index (BMI) indicates they are overweight, they do not experience the health complications typically associated with the condition, such as type 2 diabetes.

“Some populations may be, despite large amounts of adipose tissue, better protected against co-morbidities and Caucasian populations belong to those,” Endocrinologist Matthias Bluher, a professor at University of Leipzig and Helmholtz Centre Munich in Germany, said at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes this week, per the Independent.

While the highest proportions of people who fall into the category of “fit but fat” are located in France and other Mediterranean nations, the UK is similar to that of Sweden, Norway or Germany, he added.

“There will always be people living with obesity who seem to be protected against obesity-related cardiometabolic diseases,” he said, adding that it is most common in women who are premenopausal.

The controversial concept of “fit but fat” has long been a subject of debate between scientists, health gurus and body positivity activists, who continue to argue whether a person can be obese — which means a BMI of 30 or more — and still maintain physical health.

The stance goes against longstanding medical beliefs about weight and health, as obesity has frequently been linked to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and high cholesterol.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, regular gym-goers who are obese may be benefiting from routine exercise in the short-term, but excess weight can still have negative impacts on physical health in the long run.

Even the researchers seem to default to conventional wisdom themselves — Dr. Bluher still appears to believe that weight managment is essential for anyone struggling with obesity — no matter how healthy they seem.

“A timely and personalized treatment of obesity should also be recommended to people living with healthier obesity,” he said.

The new research follows new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention —35% of Americans are now obese, and that number is steadily on the rise.

A report from March projected that by 2035, obesity will hit 51% globally.