Ever seen an overweight person who not only seemed to be active and do well in sports and other physical activities but also seemed to live life better and probably a lot longer than many of his/her “normal weight” peers? Ever wondered how a “fat” person could do so well in life? Well … maybe that person was “fit” and, as this article suggests, fitness trumps fatness any day of the year.

The article reports findings from a study titled “Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Adiposity as Mortality Predictors in Older Adults” which appears in the December 5th issue of the Journal Of American Medicine (JAMA). Around 2600 adults were assessed for fitness between 1979 and 2001 based on standard treadmill tests and their “fatness” was measured using a combination of Body Mass Index, Body Fat Percentage and waist circumference.

The conclusions of the study speak for themselves:

In this study population, fitness was a significant mortality predictor in older adults, independent of overall or abdominal adiposity. Clinicians should consider the importance of preserving functional capacity by recommending regular physical activity for older individuals, normal-weight and overweight alike. [JAMA]

Yes, obesity is an issue and our current sedentary lifestyles are not helping. But Steven Blair from the University of South Carolina, who conducted this study with his colleagues, says:

“I believe we have an obesity epidemic. It’s a bad sign. We should not ignore obesity. But what happens all too often is we focus nearly exclusively on obesity and forget the activity and fitness part.” [MSNBC]

“Right-weight” people may not really be fit, but fit people (lean or a little overweight) are always better equipped to take on life’s challenges and live a better life. In fact the study seems to tell us “Keep your focus on fitness - other things, including your weight, will automagically take care of themselves”.

To fitness!

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