Fit, Fat Women Face Early Deaths
December 23, 2004
Women who were physically active but obese had almost
twice the risk of death of women were both active and
lean. Women who were sedentary but slender were 55 percent
more likely to die early. Women who were both sedentary
and obese were almost two and a half times more likely
to die.
Being fit but fat isn't good enough. Excess weight,
all by itself, can take years off your life, even if
you get plenty of exercise, a study has found.
"There has been some suggestion that if you are
particularly active, you don't have to worry about your
body weight, about your diet. That's very misleading,"
said the report's lead author, Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard
School of Public Health.
Active, but Fleshy
The study of 116,500 women was published in the New
England Journal of Medicine.
Women who were physically active but obese had almost
twice the risk of death of women were both active and
lean.
Women who were sedentary but slender were 55 percent
more likely to die early.
Women who were both sedentary and obese were almost
two and a half times more likely to die.
"Being physically active did not cancel out the
increased mortality of overweight. Being lean did not
counterbalance the risk effect of being sedentary,"
Hu said.
Thin, yet Sedentary
Dr. Timothy Church of the Cooper Institute, which is
devoted to research on exercise and health, praised
the findings. "If you're lean but you're sedentary,
don't fool yourself. You're still at risk. You need
to get physically active," he said.
A separate study in the journal -- the longest look
yet at the effects of stomach-stapling and other obesity
surgery -- found that the weight loss and the protection
against diabetes that result are major and long-lasting
Source:www.technewsworld.com
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