right off the bat I'm suspicious of the methodology, since it seems that active obese people are more likely to develop high cholesterol than less active obese

right off the bat I'm suspicious of the methodology, since it seems that active obese people are more likely to develop high cholesterol than less active obese people (doesn't pass the sniff test). More importantly, I don't think the "active" category is sufficiently discerning, ie it's a pretty low bar to exercise 150 minutes in a week. I know several hardcore endurance athletes who are likely overweight if not obese, who exercise obsessively and achieve those weekly exercise figures every day. If anyone was "fat but fit" it would be them, but this study doesn't measure that kind of person.