Fitness Is A Must At Every Age If You Want Live Longer With Sound Mind And Body
December 7, 2007
US researchers have said that when it comes to living longer, fitness may trump fatness. Men and women who were fit as judged by a treadmill test but were overweight or obese had a lower mortality risk than those of normal weight but low fitness levels. This was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Exercise expert Steven Blair of the University of South Carolina and colleagues tracked about 2,600 people age 60 and up, examining how physical fitness and body fat affected their death rates over 12 years. Those in the lowest fifth in terms of fitness had a death rate four times higher than participants ranked in the top fifth for fitness.
According to Blair, “Being fit provides protection against mortality in these men and women 60 and older, whether they’re normal weight, overweight or obese.” The findings are particularly relevant as people in the US and many other countries live increasingly sedentary lifestyles and obesity rates remain high. At the same time, the populations are aging in many nations. The researchers assessed the fitness of the participants using a tread mill test, seeing how long they could walk while the treadmill’s incline increased. The study showed that even a modest effort to improve physical activity can provide health benefits. Those in the bottom fifth in terms of fitness were about twice more likely to die than those in the next fifth.
Source: Reuters, Washington
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