When it comes to living longer, fitness may trump fatness, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed 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. Click HERE to read the full story.
QuoD: How do YOU know if you're fit?
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2 comments:
my doctor had been telling me EVERY year for the prior 6 years that i needed to lose at least 10 lbs. 2 years ago i told her that some studies were showing that you could be overweight but still be fit. she looked at me and said "nice try ... LOSE SOME WEIGHT!"
i think it's true though -- that you can be overweight and fit. even when i was heavier i still worked out, played tennis, football, etc without having a heart attack. and lawd knows that jennifer, our aerobics instructor, is no lightweight, but she is one of the fittest, strongest women i've ever met.
but i FEEL fitter having lost some weight. it's part psychological -- i can actually see some muscle, so i'm more conscious of having some. i'm not as distracted by the things that made me feel unfit. no matter how much muscle was underneath, i was still fixated on the roll of fat around my belly when i sat down or the way my thighs rubbed together.
i don't think i quite answered the question ... :-)
I struggle with this, too, pdw. I want to be able to SEE the results of all my hard work and reap the benefits of the fruits of my labor (e.g., tight clothes, or not feeling like I've spilled a bowl of jello inside my shirt when I go down the stairs!). That being said, I do recognize that one can be fit AND fat. I see heavy-set folks running everyday and some even pass me when I'm out hitting the streets. I wonder if it's just an American bias, given our obsession with perfection and barbie/ken physiques?
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