According to a recent study, being fit has a bigger impact on heart health and longevity than the number on the scale.
People considered healthy, regardless of body mass index, had a similar risk of death as healthy people with normal BMIs, researchers reported in the study. British Journal of Sports Medicine in November. Furthermore, overweight Or obese physically fit people had a lower risk of death than unfit, normal-weight people.
“The risk of being unfit far outweighs the risk of carrying a few extra pounds. » Siddhartha Angadi, Ph.D.lead author of the study and a cardiovascular exercise physiologist at the University of Virginia, said Health in an email. “Too many people simply view exercise as a way to burn calories, when exercise is a powerful tool for improving cardiorespiratory, muscular, and metabolic health, and these benefits often occur even in the absence of change. weight.”
The study results reinforce claims by many researchers and medical providers that BMI, a calculation that compares a person’s weight to their height, is a flawed way to assess obesity and, therefore, extension, health risks. In a report published Tuesday in the Lancet Diabetes and endocrinologyan international commission has argued that obesity should not be assessed based on BMI alone, but by taking into account various factors, such as a person’s health status.
Angadi and his colleagues conducted a detailed review and combined results from several studies, allowing them to collect data from nearly 400,000 people to see how BMI and fitness relate to risk of death.
In most studies, people were considered fit if their VO2 maximum was higher than 20% of other people in their age group. VO2 max doesn’t take BMI into account but rather evaluates how well the heart and lungs deliver oxygen to the muscles during exercise and how efficiently the muscles use that oxygen, Angadi said.
To determine the participant’s VO2 max, researchers use a stress test, something you can do at home. (Some fitness trackers also measure VO2 max via heart rate data.)
Healthy people, whether overweight or obese, had a similar risk of death as physically fit people of normal weight. On the other hand, unfit people, those with a lower VO2 max, had a two to three times higher risk of dying from any cause. heart diseaseregardless of their weight.
The results show that being fit, with a higher VO2 max, may be more important for reducing the risk of death than simply focusing on getting thinner.
“People should recognize that fitness is more than just a number on a scale (which isn’t even a measure of fitness),” Angadi said. “Nearly 100 percent of weight loss attempts fail after five years, and people may abandon exercise programs simply because they don’t see the number on the scale changing.”
The study has some limitations, however, including that it did not break down the data by age or take into account the length of time a person has been overweight or obese, which is increasingly common among patients. younger. Diana Patterson, MDorthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician at Stony Brook Medicine, said Health.
Additionally, the study mainly included people from North America and Europe. Further research should determine whether this relationship is the same in populations like South Asia, China and Africa, Angadi added.
Aerobic fitness reflects the efficiency of your body systems. When you are fit, your blood flows more efficiently, your muscles are stronger, your heart and lungs work efficiently, and your brain gets the nutrients it needs. Megan Wroe, MS, RDwellness manager and dietitian at Providence St. Jude Medical Center, said Health.
Wroe said these factors give a clearer picture of health than your weight. “Using weight and height as indicators of health doesn’t make as much sense as how physical systems actually work,” she added.
BMI can also be misleading, because people with significant muscle mass may have a higher BMI even though they are still considered fit, Patterson said.
However, she added, BMI should not be dismissed completely. Research shows that high BMI is a risk factor for specific health conditions that affect overall mortality, which is “still an important correlation without perhaps direct causation.”
Patterson said improving your aerobic fitness may be easier than you think. It starts with small, manageable steps. She recommends setting easy, achievable goals.
For example, start by walking 20 minutes instead of aiming for a marathon. If joint pain is a problem for you, take a walk in a pool instead of going for a run, which is easier on the knees but can still be a good workout.
Another way to build aerobic fitness is to stay consistent, Wroe said. “Start moving. Literally pick any movement that’s feasible for your body and do it consistently every day,” whether it’s several 10-minute walks or a few squats.
Once you have progressed and remain consistent, you can gradually move towards the recommendations of the Physical Activity Guidelines for AmericansWroe said.
Guidelines suggest that adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week.
“Even taking brisk walks most days of the week can have health benefits,” Angadi said. “The sweet spot for moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise is an intensity where you notice your breathing but are not out of breath.”