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te.fitness05dec05,0,7182633.story?coll=bal_breaking
baltimoresun.com
New study offers hope to the heavyweights
Exercising may matter more than losing weight, it says
By Chris Emery and David Kohn
Sun reporters
December 5, 2007
For overweight baby boomers looking for ways to live longer and healthier
lives, breaking a sweat might be more important than shedding pounds.
A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that
regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less
likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese
people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant
reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the
study found.
"Fitness and fatness are two different things," said Dr. Steven N. Blair,
a professor at the University of North Texas who was lead author of the
paper. "You can be fat and be fit - and if you exercise, you are going to
get some protection."
Other doctors agreed that the study highlights the importance of physical
exercise for health but warned that Blair's results should not be
interpreted as a license to pig out.
"Being extremely overweight seems to be uniformly associated with adverse
outcomes," said Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight
Management Center. "Even with exercise, being obese is a significant risk
factor for dying."
Blair said the study was the first to rigorously explore the relative
contributions of fitness level and weight to an older adult's risk of
dying.
The researchers followed more than 2,600 men and women enrolled in the
Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study. Participants' average age was 64, and
they were examined between 1979 and 2001 at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas.
Doctors determined participants' fitness level by recording how long they
could walk on a treadmill with their heart beating at 85 percent of its
maximum rate for their age.
Their percentage of body fat was determined by measuring their body mass
index (BMI), a widely used height to weight ratio.
People are considered overweight if their BMI is over 25 and obese if it
is over 30. A person who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 203 pounds,
for instance, has a BMI of 30 and is considered minimally obese. Experts
typically consider a BMI over 35 as dangerously obese.
When they followed up after 12 years, the Texas researchers found that 450
of the study participants had died from a variety of causes. The vast
majority - 75 percent - succumbed to cardiovascular disease or cancer.
As expected, the participants' risk of dying increased when they were
obese. But the researchers also found that moderate exercise significantly
reduced mortality risk, even in volunteers with high BMIs.
The risk calculations were adjusted to account for age, sex, smoking and
other factors that might have affected a person's risk of death.
Among those who were moderately obese, the risk of death dropped by 33
percent if the person was fit. For severely obese participants, being fit
decreased mortality risk by 74 percent.
"We're not claiming that obesity is good," Blair said. "What I am saying
is that if you are obese and fit, your mortality risk is not elevated."
He hoped the finding would counteract popular misconceptions that outward
appearance always indicates a person's general health. He noted that many
people put on weight as they age, but remain active. Among the obese
participants in the study, he said, 46 percent met minimum standards of
fitness.
"Often the public discussion stops with fatness, but we tried to go beyond
that," he said. "Do you know anyone who is thin and smokes? That person is
probably not healthy compared to a fat person who exercises."
The news didn't surprise those on the fitness front lines.
"We have a lot of people who are overweight and are in very good shape,"
said Ranee Appleby, manager of Brick Bodies health club in Baltimore's
Belvedere Square. "They're doing high-intensity classes, doing cardio for
quite a lot of time."
Appleby said she hopes the study will help people realize that being in
shape means more than shedding pounds.
"They'll quit coming to the gym because they're not losing weight," she
said. "All they think of is weight. They need to think in terms of overall
wellness."
Sue Guthmann, 61, of Timonium, was relieved to hear that she will see
health benefits from her workouts even if she can't lose weight. She
described herself as obese and said she has been exercising almost every
day at the Maryland Athletic Club for two months on the recommendation of
her endocrinologist. She has lost relatively little weight but said she
feels much healthier.
"My strength is much better now," she said. "It doesn't tire me walking
around."
Experts said someone would be considered fit if they engage in at least 30
minutes of brisk walking or other moderate aerobic exercise at least five
days a week.
"If you are so unfit that you can't even walk for 10 minutes, then walk
for 5 minutes," Blair said. "The first step is to stand up and start
moving."
Dr. Roger Blumenthal, director of Johns Hopkins' Ciccarone Center for the
Prevention of Heart Disease, agreed that Blair's study highlights the
importance of exercise but he emphasized that diet is also important,
because the obese are at risk for a number of medical conditions,
including arthritis, gall bladder disease, diabetes and stroke.
"It certainly makes sense that just because you're overweight doesn't mean
you're destined to develop cardiovascular disease," Blumenthal said. "But
it's rare for people to develop diabetes if they aren't overweight."
His Hopkins colleague, Lawrence Cheskin, had similar concerns.
"The category that does the best is people who are both thin and fit," he
said. "Simply because I walk 30 minutes a day doesn't mean I don't have to
worry about my weight."
He said severe obesity in the United States has reached epidemic
proportions.
A study released last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that 34 percent of Americans over age 20 were obese in
2004.
On a positive note, the study found that the incidence of obesity had
remained the same from 2003 to 2004, marking the first time in a quarter-
century that the obesity rate did not rise from one year to the next.
"That may be true," Cheskin said. "But there is still a lot of obesity and
its still harming people's health."
Ernest L Sevvell, IV <esewell@gaynycap.rxrx.com> wrote:
> http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-
> te.fitness05dec05,0,7182633.story?coll=bal_breaking
> baltimoresun.com
> New study offers hope to the heavyweights
> Exercising may matter more than losing weight, it says
> By Chris Emery and David Kohn
> Sun reporters
> December 5, 2007
> For overweight baby boomers looking for ways to live longer and healthier
> lives, breaking a sweat might be more important than shedding pounds.
Or it might not too.
> A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association
> found that regardless of their weight, people of middle age who
> remain fit are less likely to die for any reason than their sedentary
> counterparts. Even obese people benefited from regular, moderate
> exercise, seeing significant reductions in their risk of heart
> attack, stroke and other illnesses, the study found.
The problem with any 'study' like that is that its the less
healthy that are least likely to be doing the exercise, so
its no surprise that the less healthy die sooner.
Doesnt mean that its the exercise that stops those who live longer to do that.
> "Fitness and fatness are two different things," said Dr. Steven N.
> Blair, a professor at the University of North Texas who was lead
> author of the paper. "You can be fat and be fit - and if you
> exercise, you are going to get some protection."
Easy to claim, hell of a lot harder to actually substantiate that claim.
> Other doctors agreed that the study highlights the importance of
> physical exercise for health but warned that Blair's results should
> not be interpreted as a license to pig out.
> "Being extremely overweight seems to be uniformly associated with
> adverse outcomes," said Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns
> Hopkins Weight Management Center. "Even with exercise, being obese is
> a significant risk factor for dying."
>
> Blair said the study was the first to rigorously explore the relative
> contributions of fitness level and weight to an older adult's risk of
> dying.
>
> The researchers followed more than 2,600 men and women enrolled in the
> Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study. Participants' average age was 64,
> and they were examined between 1979 and 2001 at the Cooper Clinic in
> Dallas.
>
> Doctors determined participants' fitness level by recording how long
> they could walk on a treadmill with their heart beating at 85 percent
> of its maximum rate for their age.
>
> Their percentage of body fat was determined by measuring their body
> mass index (BMI), a widely used height to weight ratio.
>
> People are considered overweight if their BMI is over 25 and obese if
> it is over 30. A person who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 203
> pounds, for instance, has a BMI of 30 and is considered minimally
> obese. Experts typically consider a BMI over 35 as dangerously obese.
>
> When they followed up after 12 years, the Texas researchers found
> that 450 of the study participants had died from a variety of causes.
> The vast majority - 75 percent - succumbed to cardiovascular disease
> or cancer.
>
> As expected, the participants' risk of dying increased when they were
> obese. But the researchers also found that moderate exercise
> significantly reduced mortality risk, even in volunteers with high
> BMIs.
>
> The risk calculations were adjusted to account for age, sex, smoking
> and other factors that might have affected a person's risk of death.
>
> Among those who were moderately obese, the risk of death dropped by 33
> percent if the person was fit. For severely obese participants, being
> fit decreased mortality risk by 74 percent.
>
> "We're not claiming that obesity is good," Blair said. "What I am
> saying is that if you are obese and fit, your mortality risk is not
> elevated."
>
> He hoped the finding would counteract popular misconceptions that
> outward appearance always indicates a person's general health. He
> noted that many people put on weight as they age, but remain active.
> Among the obese participants in the study, he said, 46 percent met
> minimum standards of fitness.
>
> "Often the public discussion stops with fatness, but we tried to go
> beyond that," he said. "Do you know anyone who is thin and smokes?
> That person is probably not healthy compared to a fat person who
> exercises."
>
> The news didn't surprise those on the fitness front lines.
>
> "We have a lot of people who are overweight and are in very good
> shape," said Ranee Appleby, manager of Brick Bodies health club in
> Baltimore's Belvedere Square. "They're doing high-intensity classes,
> doing cardio for quite a lot of time."
>
> Appleby said she hopes the study will help people realize that being
> in shape means more than shedding pounds.
>
> "They'll quit coming to the gym because they're not losing weight,"
> she said. "All they think of is weight. They need to think in terms
> of overall wellness."
>
> Sue Guthmann, 61, of Timonium, was relieved to hear that she will see
> health benefits from her workouts even if she can't lose weight. She
> described herself as obese and said she has been exercising almost
> every day at the Maryland Athletic Club for two months on the
> recommendation of her endocrinologist. She has lost relatively little
> weight but said she feels much healthier.
>
> "My strength is much better now," she said. "It doesn't tire me
> walking around."
>
> Experts said someone would be considered fit if they engage in at
> least 30 minutes of brisk walking or other moderate aerobic exercise
> at least five days a week.
>
> "If you are so unfit that you can't even walk for 10 minutes, then
> walk for 5 minutes," Blair said. "The first step is to stand up and
> start moving."
>
> Dr. Roger Blumenthal, director of Johns Hopkins' Ciccarone Center for
> the Prevention of Heart Disease, agreed that Blair's study highlights
> the importance of exercise but he emphasized that diet is also
> important, because the obese are at risk for a number of medical
> conditions, including arthritis, gall bladder disease, diabetes and
> stroke.
>
> "It certainly makes sense that just because you're overweight doesn't
> mean you're destined to develop cardiovascular disease," Blumenthal
> said. "But it's rare for people to develop diabetes if they aren't
> overweight."
>
> His Hopkins colleague, Lawrence Cheskin, had similar concerns.
>
> "The category that does the best is people who are both thin and
> fit," he said. "Simply because I walk 30 minutes a day doesn't mean I
> don't have to worry about my weight."
>
> He said severe obesity in the United States has reached epidemic
> proportions.
>
> A study released last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control
> and Prevention found that 34 percent of Americans over age 20 were
> obese in 2004.
>
> On a positive note, the study found that the incidence of obesity had
> remained the same from 2003 to 2004, marking the first time in a
> quarter- century that the obesity rate did not rise from one year to
> the next.
>
> "That may be true," Cheskin said. "But there is still a lot of
> obesity and its still harming people's health."
On 05 Dec 2007, "Ernest L Sevvell, IV" <esewell@gaynycap.rxrx.com> wrote:
>http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-
>te.fitness05dec05,0,7182633.story?coll=bal_breaking
>
>baltimoresun.com
>New study offers hope to the heavyweights
>Exercising may matter more than losing weight, it says
>By Chris Emery and David Kohn
>
>Sun reporters
>
>December 5, 2007
>
> For overweight baby boomers looking for ways to live longer and healthier
>lives, breaking a sweat might be more important than shedding pounds.
>
>A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that
>regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less
>likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese
>people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant
>reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the
>study found.
>
>"Fitness and fatness are two different things," said Dr. Steven N. Blair,
>a professor at the University of North Texas who was lead author of the
>paper. "You can be fat and be fit - and if you exercise, you are going to
>get some protection."
>
>Other doctors agreed that the study highlights the importance of physical
>exercise for health but warned that Blair's results should not be
>interpreted as a license to pig out.
>
>"Being extremely overweight seems to be uniformly associated with adverse
>outcomes," said Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight
>Management Center. "Even with exercise, being obese is a significant risk
>factor for dying."
>
>Blair said the study was the first to rigorously explore the relative
>contributions of fitness level and weight to an older adult's risk of
>dying.
>
>The researchers followed more than 2,600 men and women enrolled in the
>Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study. Participants' average age was 64, and
>they were examined between 1979 and 2001 at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas.
>
>Doctors determined participants' fitness level by recording how long they
>could walk on a treadmill with their heart beating at 85 percent of its
>maximum rate for their age.
>
>Their percentage of body fat was determined by measuring their body mass
>index (BMI), a widely used height to weight ratio.
>
>People are considered overweight if their BMI is over 25 and obese if it
>is over 30. A person who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 203 pounds,
>for instance, has a BMI of 30 and is considered minimally obese. Experts
>typically consider a BMI over 35 as dangerously obese.
>
>When they followed up after 12 years, the Texas researchers found that 450
>of the study participants had died from a variety of causes. The vast
>majority - 75 percent - succumbed to cardiovascular disease or cancer.
>
>As expected, the participants' risk of dying increased when they were
>obese. But the researchers also found that moderate exercise significantly
>reduced mortality risk, even in volunteers with high BMIs.
>
>The risk calculations were adjusted to account for age, sex, smoking and
>other factors that might have affected a person's risk of death.
>
>Among those who were moderately obese, the risk of death dropped by 33
>percent if the person was fit. For severely obese participants, being fit
>decreased mortality risk by 74 percent.
>
>"We're not claiming that obesity is good," Blair said. "What I am saying
>is that if you are obese and fit, your mortality risk is not elevated."
>
>He hoped the finding would counteract popular misconceptions that outward
>appearance always indicates a person's general health. He noted that many
>people put on weight as they age, but remain active. Among the obese
>participants in the study, he said, 46 percent met minimum standards of
>fitness.
>
>"Often the public discussion stops with fatness, but we tried to go beyond
>that," he said. "Do you know anyone who is thin and smokes? That person is
>probably not healthy compared to a fat person who exercises."
>
>The news didn't surprise those on the fitness front lines.
>
>"We have a lot of people who are overweight and are in very good shape,"
>said Ranee Appleby, manager of Brick Bodies health club in Baltimore's
>Belvedere Square. "They're doing high-intensity classes, doing cardio for
>quite a lot of time."
>
>Appleby said she hopes the study will help people realize that being in
>shape means more than shedding pounds.
>
>"They'll quit coming to the gym because they're not losing weight," she
>said. "All they think of is weight. They need to think in terms of overall
>wellness."
>
>Sue Guthmann, 61, of Timonium, was relieved to hear that she will see
>health benefits from her workouts even if she can't lose weight. She
>described herself as obese and said she has been exercising almost every
>day at the Maryland Athletic Club for two months on the recommendation of
>her endocrinologist. She has lost relatively little weight but said she
>feels much healthier.
>
>"My strength is much better now," she said. "It doesn't tire me walking
>around."
>
>Experts said someone would be considered fit if they engage in at least 30
>minutes of brisk walking or other moderate aerobic exercise at least five
>days a week.
>
>"If you are so unfit that you can't even walk for 10 minutes, then walk
>for 5 minutes," Blair said. "The first step is to stand up and start
>moving."
>
>Dr. Roger Blumenthal, director of Johns Hopkins' Ciccarone Center for the
>Prevention of Heart Disease, agreed that Blair's study highlights the
>importance of exercise but he emphasized that diet is also important,
>because the obese are at risk for a number of medical conditions,
>including arthritis, gall bladder disease, diabetes and stroke.
>
>"It certainly makes sense that just because you're overweight doesn't mean
>you're destined to develop cardiovascular disease," Blumenthal said. "But
>it's rare for people to develop diabetes if they aren't overweight."
>
>His Hopkins colleague, Lawrence Cheskin, had similar concerns.
>
>"The category that does the best is people who are both thin and fit," he
>said. "Simply because I walk 30 minutes a day doesn't mean I don't have to
>worry about my weight."
>
>He said severe obesity in the United States has reached epidemic
>proportions.
>
>A study released last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
>Prevention found that 34 percent of Americans over age 20 were obese in
>2004.
>
>On a positive note, the study found that the incidence of obesity had
>remained the same from 2003 to 2004, marking the first time in a quarter-
>century that the obesity rate did not rise from one year to the next.
>
>"That may be true," Cheskin said. "But there is still a lot of obesity and
>its still harming people's health."
Here's a similar study that tracked a larger group of younger, but still
middle aged people for a longer period of time.
Am J Epidemiol 2002 Nov 1;156(9):832-41
Fitness and fatness as predictors of mortality from all causes and from
cardiovascular disease in men and women in the lipid research clinics
study.
Stevens J, Cai J, Evenson KR, Thomas R.
Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599, USA. June_Stev...@unc.edu
The relative size of the effects of fitness and fatness on longevity has
been studied in only one cohort. The authors examined this issue using data
from 2,506 women and 2,860 men in the Lipid Research Clinics Study. The
mean age was 46.6 years in women and 45.1 years in men at baseline
(1972-1976). Fitness was assessed using a treadmill test, and fatness was
assessed as body mass index calculated from measured height and weight.
Participants were followed for vital status through 1998. Hazard ratios
were calculated using proportional hazard models that included covariates
for age, education, smoking, alcohol intake, and the dietary Keys score.
Fitness and fatness were both associated with mortality from all causes and
from cardiovascular disease. For mortality from all causes, the adjusted
hazard ratios were 1.32 among the fit-fat, 1.30 among the unfit-not fat,
and 1.57 among the unfit-fat women compared with fit-not fat women. Among
men the same hazard ratios were 1.44, 1.25, and 1.49. There were no
significant interactions between fitness and fatness in either men or
women. The authors conclude that both fitness and fatness are risk factors
for mortality, and that being fit does not completely reverse the increased
risk associated with excess adiposity.
Like with the Blair study, fat unfit people faired the worst. I don't see
a breakdown of gender in the Blair sturdy, but in the study that I posted,
thin unfit women had lower mortality rate than fat fit women. I suspect
that many of the men in both studies had high BMI's, but low body fat. If
you wanted to see the true effects of fat and fitness on mortality rates,
one would want to exclude these subjects.
On Wed, 5 Dec 2007, Ernest L Sevvell, IV wrote:
> A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that
> regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less
> likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese
> people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant
> reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the
> study found.
Robin has been saying that consistantly, for as long as I have been
posting in this group. And I'm sure she was saying it before then also...
Yet the size nazis attack her because of that view. Now, I know your
story won't change the posting habbits of bigots, but it is still
satisfying to know that you have been right all along...
> "Fitness and fatness are two different things," said Dr. Steven N. Blair,
> a professor at the University of North Texas who was lead author of the
> paper. "You can be fat and be fit - and if you exercise, you are going to
> get some protection."
That S.O.B. stole the line that Robin uses all the time... Which one of
us is Steven?
> Other doctors agreed that the study highlights the importance of physical
> exercise for health but warned that Blair's results should not be
> interpreted as a license to pig out.
Naturally... Doctors only accept what they were taught in medical
school... Anything that their professor didn't say isn't true... Bunch
of elitist idiots.
> Among those who were moderately obese, the risk of death dropped by 33
> percent if the person was fit. For severely obese participants, being fit
> decreased mortality risk by 74 percent
Wow... Here is my question... At the same fitness level, how much did
the obesity affect the risk of mortality? The above statistics were
standardized for obesity, what I want is standardized for fitness.
> "We're not claiming that obesity is good," Blair said. "What I am saying
> is that if you are obese and fit, your mortality risk is not elevated."
Sounds like for a level of fitness, obesity has no effect on mortality.
Would still like some statistics though...
On Thu, 6 Dec 2007, wrote:
>On Wed, 5 Dec 2007, Ernest L Sevvell, IV wrote:
>
>>A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that
>>regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less
>>likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese
>>people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant
>>reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the
>>study found.
>
>Robin has been saying that consistantly, for as long as I have been
>posting in this group.
You don't even like to exercise, so you obviously don't give fitness much
credibility.
On 6 Dec 2007, mike@notvalids.com (Mike) wrote:
>On 05 Dec 2007, "Ernest L Sevvell, IV" <esewell@gaynycap.rxrx.com> wrote:
>>http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-
>>te.fitness05dec05,0,7182633.story?coll=bal_breaking
>>
>>baltimoresun.com
>>New study offers hope to the heavyweights
>>Exercising may matter more than losing weight, it says
>>By Chris Emery and David Kohn
>>
>>Sun reporters
>>
>>December 5, 2007
>>
>> For overweight baby boomers looking for ways to live longer and healthier
>>lives, breaking a sweat might be more important than shedding pounds.
>>
>>A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that
>>regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less
>>likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese
>>people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant
>>reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the
>>study found.
>>
>>"Fitness and fatness are two different things," said Dr. Steven N. Blair,
>>a professor at the University of North Texas who was lead author of the
>>paper. "You can be fat and be fit - and if you exercise, you are going to
>>get some protection."
>>
>>Other doctors agreed that the study highlights the importance of physical
>>exercise for health but warned that Blair's results should not be
>>interpreted as a license to pig out.
>>
>>"Being extremely overweight seems to be uniformly associated with adverse
>>outcomes," said Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight
>>Management Center. "Even with exercise, being obese is a significant risk
>>factor for dying."
>>
>>Blair said the study was the first to rigorously explore the relative
>>contributions of fitness level and weight to an older adult's risk of
>>dying.
>>
>>The researchers followed more than 2,600 men and women enrolled in the
>>Aerobic Center Longitudinal Study. Participants' average age was 64, and
>>they were examined between 1979 and 2001 at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas.
>>
>>Doctors determined participants' fitness level by recording how long they
>>could walk on a treadmill with their heart beating at 85 percent of its
>>maximum rate for their age.
>>
>>Their percentage of body fat was determined by measuring their body mass
>>index (BMI), a widely used height to weight ratio.
>>
>>People are considered overweight if their BMI is over 25 and obese if it
>>is over 30. A person who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 203 pounds,
>>for instance, has a BMI of 30 and is considered minimally obese. Experts
>>typically consider a BMI over 35 as dangerously obese.
>>
>>When they followed up after 12 years, the Texas researchers found that 450
>>of the study participants had died from a variety of causes. The vast
>>majority - 75 percent - succumbed to cardiovascular disease or cancer.
>>
>>As expected, the participants' risk of dying increased when they were
>>obese. But the researchers also found that moderate exercise significantly
>>reduced mortality risk, even in volunteers with high BMIs.
>>
>>The risk calculations were adjusted to account for age, sex, smoking and
>>other factors that might have affected a person's risk of death.
>>
>>Among those who were moderately obese, the risk of death dropped by 33
>>percent if the person was fit. For severely obese participants, being fit
>>decreased mortality risk by 74 percent.
>>
>>"We're not claiming that obesity is good," Blair said. "What I am saying
>>is that if you are obese and fit, your mortality risk is not elevated."
>>
>>He hoped the finding would counteract popular misconceptions that outward
>>appearance always indicates a person's general health. He noted that many
>>people put on weight as they age, but remain active. Among the obese
>>participants in the study, he said, 46 percent met minimum standards of
>>fitness.
>>
>>"Often the public discussion stops with fatness, but we tried to go beyond
>>that," he said. "Do you know anyone who is thin and smokes? That person is
>>probably not healthy compared to a fat person who exercises."
>>
>>The news didn't surprise those on the fitness front lines.
>>
>>"We have a lot of people who are overweight and are in very good shape,"
>>said Ranee Appleby, manager of Brick Bodies health club in Baltimore's
>>Belvedere Square. "They're doing high-intensity classes, doing cardio for
>>quite a lot of time."
>>
>>Appleby said she hopes the study will help people realize that being in
>>shape means more than shedding pounds.
>>
>>"They'll quit coming to the gym because they're not losing weight," she
>>said. "All they think of is weight. They need to think in terms of overall
>>wellness."
>>
>>Sue Guthmann, 61, of Timonium, was relieved to hear that she will see
>>health benefits from her workouts even if she can't lose weight. She
>>described herself as obese and said she has been exercising almost every
>>day at the Maryland Athletic Club for two months on the recommendation of
>>her endocrinologist. She has lost relatively little weight but said she
>>feels much healthier.
>>
>>"My strength is much better now," she said. "It doesn't tire me walking
>>around."
>>
>>Experts said someone would be considered fit if they engage in at least 30
>>minutes of brisk walking or other moderate aerobic exercise at least five
>>days a week.
>>
>>"If you are so unfit that you can't even walk for 10 minutes, then walk
>>for 5 minutes," Blair said. "The first step is to stand up and start
>>moving."
>>
>>Dr. Roger Blumenthal, director of Johns Hopkins' Ciccarone Center for the
>>Prevention of Heart Disease, agreed that Blair's study highlights the
>>importance of exercise but he emphasized that diet is also important,
>>because the obese are at risk for a number of medical conditions,
>>including arthritis, gall bladder disease, diabetes and stroke.
>>
>>"It certainly makes sense that just because you're overweight doesn't mean
>>you're destined to develop cardiovascular disease," Blumenthal said. "But
>>it's rare for people to develop diabetes if they aren't overweight."
>>
>>His Hopkins colleague, Lawrence Cheskin, had similar concerns.
>>
>>"The category that does the best is people who are both thin and fit," he
>>said. "Simply because I walk 30 minutes a day doesn't mean I don't have to
>>worry about my weight."
>>
>>He said severe obesity in the United States has reached epidemic
>>proportions.
>>
>>A study released last week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
>>Prevention found that 34 percent of Americans over age 20 were obese in
>>2004.
>>
>>On a positive note, the study found that the incidence of obesity had
>>remained the same from 2003 to 2004, marking the first time in a quarter-
>>century that the obesity rate did not rise from one year to the next.
>>
>>"That may be true," Cheskin said. "But there is still a lot of obesity and
>>its still harming people's health."
>
>Here's a similar study that tracked a larger group of younger, but still
>middle aged people for a longer period of time.
>
>Am J Epidemiol 2002 Nov 1;156(9):832-41
>Fitness and fatness as predictors of mortality from all causes and from
>cardiovascular disease in men and women in the lipid research clinics
>study.
>Stevens J, Cai J, Evenson KR, Thomas R.
>Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North
>Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599, USA. June_Stev...@unc.edu
>
>
>The relative size of the effects of fitness and fatness on longevity has
>been studied in only one cohort. The authors examined this issue using data
>from 2,506 women and 2,860 men in the Lipid Research Clinics Study. The
>mean age was 46.6 years in women and 45.1 years in men at baseline
>(1972-1976). Fitness was assessed using a treadmill test, and fatness was
>assessed as body mass index calculated from measured height and weight.
>Participants were followed for vital status through 1998. Hazard ratios
>were calculated using proportional hazard models that included covariates
>for age, education, smoking, alcohol intake, and the dietary Keys score.
>Fitness and fatness were both associated with mortality from all causes and
>from cardiovascular disease. For mortality from all causes, the adjusted
>hazard ratios were 1.32 among the fit-fat, 1.30 among the unfit-not fat,
>and 1.57 among the unfit-fat women compared with fit-not fat women. Among
>men the same hazard ratios were 1.44, 1.25, and 1.49. There were no
>significant interactions between fitness and fatness in either men or
>women. The authors conclude that both fitness and fatness are risk factors
>for mortality, and that being fit does not completely reverse the increased
>risk associated with excess adiposity.
>
>Like with the Blair study, fat unfit people faired the worst. I don't see
>a breakdown of gender in the Blair sturdy, but in the study that I posted,
>thin unfit women had lower mortality rate than fat fit women. I suspect
>that many of the men in both studies had high BMI's, but low body fat. If
>you wanted to see the true effects of fat and fitness on mortality rates,
>one would want to exclude these subjects.
The fat acceptors don't like it when you post more compelling evidence that
trashes the dream of fatopia. Their silence is deafening.
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007, Kenny wrote:
> You don't even like to exercise, so you obviously don't give fitness much
> credibility.
This study based "fitness" on the ability to walk at 85% of your
recomended heart rate for your age group. Walking is not the same as
going to the gym and working your @$$ off, now is it?
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007, Doug Freyburger <dfreybur@yahoo.com> wrote:
>The Master <tar...@nospam.sdf.lonestar.org.nospam> wrote:
>Kenny wrote:
>>
>> > You don't even like to exercise, so you obviously don't give fitness much
>> > credibility.
>>
>> This study based "fitness" on the ability to walk at 85% of your
>> recomended heart rate for your age group. Walking is not the same as
>> going to the gym and working your @$$ off, now is it?
>
>Do not get sucked into the false idea that if it does not happen
>at the gym it does not count as exercise.
>
>There's a level of fitness where you walk on the flat for 30-60
>minutes and you wonder why that counts as exercise. Reach
>that level and then you have that level of fitness. It's a baseline
>on which to build and it might be the level the paper refers to.
Here's the poster child of the fat and fit movment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0leLrjA20xo
Her superlative fitness has earned her great admiration in the fat
acceptance movement, which is why CNN sought her out.
On Fri, 7 Dec 2007, Doug Freyburger <dfreybur@yahoo.com> wrote:
>The Master <tar...@nospam.sdf.lonestar.org.nospam> wrote:
>Kenny wrote:
>>
>> > You don't even like to exercise, so you obviously don't give fitness much
>> > credibility.
>>
>> This study based "fitness" on the ability to walk at 85% of your
>> recomended heart rate for your age group. Walking is not the same as
>> going to the gym and working your @$$ off, now is it?
>
>Do not get sucked into the false idea that if it does not happen
>at the gym it does not count as exercise.
>
>There's a level of fitness where you walk on the flat for 30-60
>minutes and you wonder why that counts as exercise. Reach
>that level and then you have that level of fitness. It's a baseline
>on which to build and it might be the level the paper refers to.
Here's the poster child of the fat and fit movment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0leLrjA20xo
Her superlative fitness has earned her great admiration in the fat
acceptance movement, which is why CNN sought her out.
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