While body weight is important, is it more important than physical fitness? A healthy life is about balance, but if you must choose between exercise or dieting, which is better for long-term health?
A comprehensive study seems to have answered that question. In short, it’s far more important to be in shape to achieve a long, healthy life than it is to be slim.
This study analyzed 20 earlier studies involving nearly 400,000 middle-aged or older people from multiple nations. Importantly, there was a greater representation of females compared to previous studies.
The review divided the participants into the “fit” and the “unfit.” The “unfit” were defined as anyone whose stress test placed their maximal aerobic capacity at the bottom 20 percent of people of their age and sex. The “fit” tested in the top 80 percent. They also compared Body Mass Index (BMI) to divide the groups into normal, overweight and obese body types. The researchers then examined how BMI and fitness status were related to death from all-causes, including cardiovascular diseases, and if these relationships were affected by age, sex or chronic disease status.
The results: being out of shape, regardless of your age, sex or body size, could double or triple your risk of dying prematurely. This is according to Siddhartha Angadi, an exercise physiologist at the University of Virginia and the study’s senior author. The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. This adds to the growing research that people can be healthy and live a long life at any weight, if they are also active and fit.
A special thanks goes to Siddhartha S. Angadi, the University of Virginia, for reviewing today's episode!
Further Reading