posted 11/06/02
Weight still matters, even if you put in time at the gym and
are fit.
A subject of an ongoing debate among
health experts is: does it matter if you're carrying around excess fat as long
as you're fit,? Now a new study says that weight matters, even if you put in
time at the gym.
Regular exercise does not cancel out all the
health risks of being overweight, according to study results in the TK issue of
the American Journal of Epidemiology. It's the normal-weight people who are in
shape who can expect to live the longest.
"It is important not to be overweight, but it
also important to be fit," said study author Dr. June Stevens, a professor of
nutrition and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
"Just being slender is not enough. Just being fit is not enough. In order to
enjoy the best life expectancy, you need to be both."
The new findings are based on data from 2,506
women and 2,860 men in eight U.S. cities who participated in a study that began
in 1972, when their average age was about 45. At baseline, subjects had their
fitness levels assessed by treadmill tests and their body mass index -- a
standardized measure that takes into account height and weight - calculated.
Subjects were grouped into the following categories: fit, not fit, fat and not
fat. They were followed until 1998. [abstract]
In both women and men, the unfit-fat group faced
the greatest risk of death. But while exercise helped boost longevity in the
overweight group, it did not erase all the negative effects of the excess
weight. Likewise, people who were thin but unfit also faced a shortened life
span, results showed.
Compared with the fit-not fat women, the
increased risk of death was 32% among the fit-fat women, 30% among the unfit-not
fat women and 57% in the unfit-fat women. [p. 838, figure 2]
Similarly, compared with the fit-not fat men, the
increased risk of death was 25% among the fit-fat men, 44% in the unfit-not fat
men and 49% in the unfit-fat group. [p. 838, figure 3]
The findings underscore the importance of both maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular exercise. But for people who exercise regularly yet still can't seem to shed those extra pounds, don't give up. "Keep exercising," she said. "And if you can't lose weight, work hard not to gain [more] weight."
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com:
American Journal of Epidemiology 2002;156:832-841.
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