To Your Health
December, 2013 (Vol. 07, Issue 12) |
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Fat But Fit?
What matters more? Physical activity or your BMI? According to researchers, the more you move the better.
Researchers at Middle Tennessee State University, examined 10 past studies that recorded information about participants' body mass indexes and fitness levels. The studies looked at the weight and fitness levels of thousands of participants (the largest one included 21,856 people) and continued to follow up with the participants over several years, ranging from an average of 7.7 years to an average of 16 years.
What the study found was that fitness levels, not weight, predicted whether or not a participant had died in the study intervening years. Unfit people, regardless of their weight, had twice the risk of dying during the study than fit people, and overweight and obese people who were fit had similar mortality risks as fit, normal weight participants, according to the study recently published in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases.
So what does this mean for you? Focus on getting out and moving and less on the numbers on the scale. Getting out for a simple walk or a jog on a daily basis will help you not only stay fit but also prolong your life!
