Stop the presses! A new study has found that being fit actually makes you healthier and more likely to live longer than people who are out of shape and sedentary. My god, do they mean that having, say, better cardiovascular health could in turn lead to better overall health and less risk of certain diseases and a longer lifespan? My world has been rocked. Why, next they'll be telling us that smoking is bad for you and you shouldn't let kids suck on lead-encrusted toys.
Oh, fine, now that I've had my fun I'll tell you this is actually an really interesting finding: When it comes to longevity, being fit is more important than being "normal" weight. People who were fit but considered obese or overweight actually had a lower mortality rate than people at normal weight but low fitness levels. So perhaps some of that emphasis on obesity was not quite as important as we thought. Study lead Steven Blair says we still have an obesity epidemic (thus making him part of the epidemic of people referring to obesity as an epidemic) but "what happens all too often is we focus nearly exclusively on obesity and forget the activity and fitness part."
They found that even a li'l tiny bit of fitness through activity significantly lowered the risks for folks in the study. So while a couple of walks a week and healthier eating habits might not result in big weight loss, they will probably lengthen your lifespan. Good news, if you ask me.
