In healthy living, many things seem to be black and white:
Smoking = unhealthy
Being active = healthy
Being overweight or obese = unhealthy
But every now and then an article is published that reminds us that health isn’t always so cut and dry. You may remember a study that was widely publicized nearly a year ago, which showed that extra weight doesn’t necessarily mean extra health risks – such as risk of dying from heart disease or cancer.
Recently studies have gone a step further. An article published last week in The New York Times discussed studies showing that the most important factor in mortality is fitness, not Body Mass Index. One study found that as many as one-third or one-half of people who are overweight or obese are healthy in terms of blood pressure, blood glucose and HDL (or “good”) cholesterol – all of which contribute to heart risks.
In other studies, researchers looked at fitness level using a treadmill test. They found that overweight people who performed well on a treadmill test had lower heart risks than those who were slimmer and did not perform well. And a longitudinal study found that those with the lowest fitness level were four times as likely to die.
In fact, just minimal fitness has been shown to cut risk by as much as half. So it sounds like good news all around: If you’re not exercising regularly, now may be a good time to talk with your doctor about beginning a fitness program. And if you’re exercising consistently but having trouble taking off extra weight, it seems your efforts may not be in vain.
Kerry
