Are overweight people more muscular?

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I hope that this topic doesn't offend anyone, but I wasn't sure how else to ask it. My question is: are most overweight/obese people actually quite muscular underneath the fat?

The reason I ask is because I've recently started exercising with a weighted vest, and even with just 20-30lb, it makes a huge difference. I notice that it can be much harder to stand up, I get tired far faster than I normally would, and it generally takes a lot more effort to do just about anything. No surprises there, but I was kind of surprised at how big of a difference just a few pounds made. If someone is 50-100lb heavier, I would imagine that their muscles, in particular their legs, would have to be much stronger just for them to make it through the day and remain mobile. I would also think that things that would be relatively easy exercises, like walking, would be far more intensive for someone who is overweight.

Any thoughts? This had me curious, because being overweight is often associated with being out of shape, but in terms of muscle strength I don't know that that's the case.

No, there is nothing beneath the fat. The option is to have fat *or* muscle. When you wear the weighted vest you are exercising harder and burning more calories which gets rid of fat. But you are working very hard briefly. If you were carrying 20 pounds of fat, you would be taxing your heart and lungs 24/7, which overtaxes the body's capacity. Fat and muscle cannot be compared by weight, it just doesn't apply.

Depends what you mean by fat.

Well if you you have more body mass you need some muscle to move. So technically very light people might have less muscle mass than overweight or large people. But proportionally probably not.

However overweight people tend to get slower and less mobile, their muscles will become less able.

So there are overweight people who are fitter and more than others.

Muscle mass doesn't necessarily translate into more power. There is a German cyclist who has monster thighs, I think it is a genetic conditions, he isn't better than the very top athletes. Efficiency of the muscle for the specific job, has to be factored.

Visceral fat is the most dangerous type anyway.

Overweight people in general do have more muscle mass formed by the excess weight they have to carry all the time, so it's not surprising they are generally stronger than the average skinny individual.

There are always exceptions though.

Indeed, thee's plenty of overweight people who are bulkier due to a high amount of muscle and moderate amount of fat.

But there's also plenty of overweight people who are their size because of high amount of fat, and moderate to low amount of muscle.

The unfit/out-of-shape overweight people may still develop some muscle naturally from lunging around all that fat on their bodies all day, but it's usually the average amount of strength for an unfit thin person their age or even slightly lower.

My best friend, for instance is quite overweight/obese, and has an average amount of strength for his age. I'm lean and workout, but he's nearly my equal in arm wrestling, but slightly lower. He is capable of lifting heaver than I can with his arms, but my body is far more proportionate muscle-wise.

Here, are a few crude, simplistic charts but they clearly outline the difference between 'overweight but fit' and 'overweight and unfit':

http://i.imgur.com/wsF8w.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rLZpB.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/1adkl.jpg
http://s30.postimg.org/6egtch2gx/4_DAf_OU4.jpg

No, they are not.

Now, most body-builders are overweight or obese due to their BMI score, but those who are indeed fat do not have 'hidden muscles' somewhere.
Fat builds up under your muscles, so if this were the case, you'd still see it.

@izzme, yeah, but people such as powerlifters will build a massively strong body, even if that means a bit of excess fat.

Bodybuilders have low body fats, the majority of their weight being pure muscle.

For powerlifters, they are more liberal about this and while they are mostly made up of muscle, are a bit more focused on building overall mass. This may result in them being severely obese on the BMI.

It pisses me off my severely overweight friend is slightly physically stronger than me when he's never lifted weights a day in his life, when I've been hitting the gym since Jan last year and eating healthy and still pretty skinny.

Good news is I'm catching up fast, and I'll probably soon surpass him.

And, I'll forever be more fit and healthier than he is. Dude couldn't even walk 1.6km (1mile) without constantly needing to stop and take rest breaks. Took us far longer than it would have if I went with a slimmer friend. I was barely/not fatigued at all even when the walk was over. It was a light breeze to me, a struggle for him.