If you have an overweight or obese individual who is regularly active, are they still healthy? What about a sedentary individual who is a healthy weight? Is he or she still healthy?

Research by Dr Steven Blair, formerly of the Cooper Institute has published vast amounts of epidemiological data on this exact question. Results showed that overweight and obese individuals who were physically fit, were at lower mortality risk when compared to sedentary individuals who were a healthy weight.   

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=499699&in_page_id=1774&ICO=HEALTH&ICL=TOPART

Why being fat 'doesn't matter if you're fit'

When it comes to health, being fit is more important than being fat

Being fit helps you live longer - even when you're fat, an American study has found.

Striking findings show the fittest fat men and women aged 60 and over are more likely to live to a ripe old age than their averagely weighted or slim - and less fit - peers.

The message seems to contradict current anxieties about an obesity epidemic and constant messages to lose weight.

But  U.S. researchers led by Dr Steven Blair claim all older people, including those who are obese, can benefit from increasing their activity levels.

Their study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, assessed the fitness of 2,600 adults aged 60 or older and measured their Body Mass Index - an obesity indicator - and percentage body fat.

Over 12 years, 450 died and researchers found they had lower fitness levels than the survivors, regardless of BMI.

Dr Blair said: "We observed that fit obese individuals had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than did unfit, normal weight or lean individuals.

"It may be possible to reduce all-cause death rates among older adults by promoting regular physical activity - such as brisk walking for 30 minutes or most days."

Click on the link below to read Dr. Blair's comments:

http://suewidemark.com/fat-fit-new.htm

Fit and Fat 

by Steven Blair, Miavita Scientific Advisor

Most people think that you can tell if someone's fit, active and healthy just by looking at them. It's not true! Fit, healthy people come in all sizes and shapes. The same is true of unhealthy people. I know several thin people who are unfit and have serious health problems. Weight Isn't Everything.

How is it possible to be fat and fit?

Quite simple. You may have the genetic predisposition to be "stocky," yet you engage in regular exercise. A colleague once asked a 5' 4", 200-lb. woman how she viewed her weight despite routinely devoting an hour a day to vigorous exercise. She replied, "I used to weigh 100 pounds more than I do now." In terms of her health, that's a tremendous difference. I often tell people that I was short, fat and bald when I started running, but that after running nearly every day for more than 30 years and covering about 70,000 miles...I am still short, fat, and bald. But I suspect I'm in much better shape than I'd be if I didn't run.

Fitness = Longevity:

For much of my career, I've tracked a large group of patients from the Cooper Clinic. Each individual received a medical examination upon entering the study, including measurements of height, weight, body composition and cardio respiratory fitness. We have followed these patients over the years to see who gets sick, who stays healthy, who lives and who dies. The results are fascinating.

Our follow-up has shown that the death rate for women and men
who are thin but unfit is at least twice as high as their obese counterparts who are fit.

In fact, across every category of body composition, unfit individuals
have a much higher death rate than those who are fit.

Fitness appears to provide protection against early mortality
no matter how much you weigh.

Defining Fitness:

Being fit, as defined in our study, does not require high-level athletic training. It means meeting the consensus public recommendation of a cumulative 30 minutes of moderate intensity daily activity, such as walking. Doing more brings additional health benefits. Overall, our data show about 50% lower mortality in the moderately fit as compared with the low fit; highly fit individuals lower their risk another 10 - 15%.

Another interesting finding:

Many people classified as obese by current standards actually have a good health profile. We see that as many as 40% of obese individuals have normal cholesterol and blood pressure, do not smoke and are physically fit. Anyone who struggles with their weight should take this as good news.

My recommendation is to focus on good habits, no matter what number you see on the scale. give fruits, vegetables and whole grains a major place in your daily diet. Be moderate about fat and alcohol. Don't smoke. Work on managing stress. Perhaps most important, get out of your chair and start moving for at least 30 minutes every day.

Steven Blair is the Director of Research at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas.

Alternatively, why not read the full research study at:

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/3/373 

Comment: 

There is a misdirected obsession with weight and weight loss. The focus is all wrong. It's fitness that's the key. Fitness appears to provide protection against early mortality no matter how much you weigh. Blair has solid data to back up his views. In one noteworthy study, he and his colleagues put nearly 22,000 men (ages 30 to 83) through a maximal fitness test. They also measured every man's weight and body fat. Eight years later, they checked to see which subjects were still alive. The results were remarkable. As reported in the Mar 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, moderately overweight men (meaning they had more than 25 percent body fat and an average body mass index of 28) who were physically fit had half the death rate of their thin, but out-of-shape, peers.

The bottom line: Fitness matters, no matter what your size.