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In early 2013, a study sparked widespread controversy after researchers reported that "overweight and fit people are 6% less likely to die than those of normal weight."
However, Michelle May, physician and author of "Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat," told CNN that we need to focus on healthy eating choices and physical activity, "rather than worrying about the numbers on the scale." She added that the notion that thinness is healthy and obesity is unhealthy is "absolutely not true." You can be fat and still be fit.
Glenn Gaiser, director of the Center for Healthy Lifestyle Research at Arizona State University, told CNN that obese but fit people may be healthier than lean, unfit individuals, reinforcing the idea that fitness plays a more important role in overall health than leanness.
Numerous studies have shown that overweight and obese people who are fit have no higher risk of premature death than those of normal weight who are fit.
A comprehensive study published late last year confirmed that fitness is more important for a long and healthy life than weight anxiety, and that low fitness increases the risk of premature death, regardless of age or weight.
Focus on exercise instead of weight anxiety
The study found that being unfit may triple the risk of premature death, regardless of age or weight. A meta-analysis showed that "cardiorespiratory fitness reduces, but does not eliminate, the risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality associated with obesity and overweight."
"This is the conclusion of the largest comprehensive study to date on the relationship between fitness, BMI, and longevity, reviewing and analyzing a large body of previous research," said Gretchen Reynolds, a writer specializing in exercise and fitness.
Siddhartha Angadi, an exercise physiologist at the University of Virginia and lead author of the study, emphasized that this research tells us that "focusing on fitness rather than obesity is crucial for health and longevity." He explained that if a person is obese but otherwise fit, their risk of dying early is about half that of someone of normal weight but in poor fitness.
This study adds to the growing body of research suggesting that people can enjoy good health and longevity at any weight if they are active, physically and mentally fit. It suggests that even a little exercise may be enough to improve fitness and reduce the risk of death, "whether or not we gain a few pounds."
Exercise is beneficial even if you don't lose excess weight.
Although the question of whether it's possible to be obese and healthy has long fascinated scientists and preoccupied most overweight people, the answer has remained inconclusive. This is because obese people are more likely to develop serious diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, and they may also be more likely to die at a younger age than those of normal weight.
However, a more recent review of previous research, published in 2021, showed that physical fitness and regular activity alter these outcomes, regardless of a person's body mass index (BMI). The researchers, including Professor Siddhartha Angadi, the lead author of the current study, compared the longevity gains achieved by obese people due to exercise or diet. They found that "exercise reduced their risk of premature death by approximately 30%, even if they didn't lose any weight," which is "twice the gains" that would be achieved by losing weight through diet.
Expanding the Scope of Research
Because many previous studies have included small groups of people, Angadi and his research team decided to expand their research in this latest study to include more women and people from other countries. They reviewed 20 studies spanning nearly two decades, including nearly 400,000 middle-aged or older people from several countries, about 30% of whom were women.
They then compared body mass index (BMI), fitness, and mortality, confirming the strong link between obesity and mortality. They found that obese and unfit men and women were nearly three times more likely to die prematurely than healthy, normal-weight individuals.
Meanwhile, normal-weight, unfit individuals were "about twice as likely to die prematurely as obese but fit individuals."
Angadi explained that "fitness largely eliminated the risk of premature death associated with obesity." "This study is important because it confirms that cardiorespiratory fitness strongly protects against death, regardless of weight," said Barry Brown, director of the research lab at Colorado State University.
Thank you !
