While doctors say being obese increases your chances of having a heart attack, researchers have found a paradox: the heavier among us have a better chance of surviving one.

Scientists are stumped over why that seems to be the case and pose several theories, according to an Associated Press article.

There may be physiological differences in the hearts of obese and normal-weight people. Or perhaps it depends on where the fat is on their bodies.

A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine by scientists at Duke University examined nearly 16,000 people in 37 countries. The authors found that one year after a heart attack, the death rate for normal-weight patients was 4.3 percent. For obese patients, it was just 2.2 percent.

But doctors warn against using the news as an excuse to be fat. "These results do not mean it's OK to be fat. Being fat is still dangerous to your health for lots of other reasons," said Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com