It’s crucial that we stay active, especially as we get older. Being physically fit is associated with longevity as well as social, emotional and cognitive health, but keep in mind that fitness doesn’t require that we lose weight.
Weight is about 50% genetically determined and, in some cases, exercising might even cause you to gain weight, because muscle weighs more than fat. Also, the body’s metabolic system slows down to conserve energy as we burn more calories through exercise. So if we only exercise to lose weight, then people who are genetically slim might think they don’t need to bother, and heavy people are often left discouraged.
Because weight and fitness are commonly correlated, it can be hard to separate our understanding of these issues. You might not realize that very heavy people can be fit. To counter this common misconception, for example, as you cheer for your favorite football team this fall, pay more attention to the impressive examples of heavy players with remarkable cardiovascular fitness and strength.
The study results discussed in the video above (and this article) clarify these issues. Mortality rates for people over 60 are sorted by weight and fitness. The blue bars show the slimmer people and the green bars represent the heavier folks. You can see that the inactive people (bars to the right) are dying at a much higher rate than the active people (bars on the left). The fit participants, whether slim or heavy, are living longer. Interestingly, the highest mortality levels are for sedentary people of normal weight. This might be because, as we get older, being too thin is associated with frailty, which is a health risk factor.
Studies like this one have led to the conclusion that “sitting is the new smoking.” In fact, most of what we think of as age-related decline is actually caused by sedentary lifestyle. Your cardiovascular health (especially as measured by your VO2 max) is a much better predictor of mortality and general health than the number of pounds your scale shows. Rather than focusing so much on how many pounds we weigh, let’s bring our attention to how many fun ways we can find to move all of our pounds.
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Great article. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Super interesting info, thanks for posting! Averages that attempt to homogenize a large and diverse group of people are going to be subject to many deviations. People stress about weight way too much in our society!
As you say, focus on fitness and don’t let the scale get you down. When you start to feel healthy, you’ll know you are doing something right!