[ad_1]
New research has just plunged a dagger into the mindset that you can be ‘fat but fit’.
Physical activity does nothing to reverse the damaging effects of excess body weight on cardiovascular health, according to an explosive study published Thursday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology.
The results contradict previous studies concluding that maintaining physical activity might lessen the effects of extra body weight on heart health.
“You can’t be ‘fat but healthy’,” said study author Alejandro Lucia, professor of exercise physiology at the European University of Madrid. “This was the first nationwide analysis to show that being regularly active is not likely to eliminate the adverse health effects of excess body fat. Our results refute the idea that a physically active lifestyle can completely negate the deleterious effects of overweight and obesity.
Lucia cites previous research that suggested in adults and children that a ‘fat but fit’ lifestyle could be in similar cardiovascular health to those that are ‘thin but unfit’ – and adds that this has led people to deviate from the real priority.
“This has led to controversial health policy proposals [prioritize] physical activity and fitness on top of weight loss, ”he says. “Our study aimed to clarify the links between activity, body weight and heart health.”
This study investigated the data of 527,662 active Spanish adults, all insured by a large occupational risk prevention company. Thirty-two percent of the participants were women; The average age was 42 years old.
They were categorized by activity level and body weight – with some 42 percent classified as normal weight with a body mass index (BMI) of 20 to 24.9. About 41 percent were overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9, while 18 percent were considered obese, with a BMI of 30 or more. The majority of the study pool, over 63%, was physically inactive. About 24 percent were regularly active and just over 12 percent were considered insufficiently active.
The research team then looked at associations between BMI, level of physical activity and high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes – all three carry high risks for heart attack and stroke.
They found that for all BMI measures, any physical activity was linked to a lower likelihood of diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure compared to no exercise at all.
“This tells us that everyone, regardless of their body weight, needs to be physically active to protect their health,” Lucia said.
So yes, being active is important. But size still matters.
Regardless of activity levels, overweight and obese participants were at higher cardiovascular risks than those with normal body weight. Compared to inactive adults of normal weight, physically active obese people were still about twice as likely to have high cholesterol, four times more likely to have diabetes, and five times more likely to have high blood pressure.
“Exercise doesn’t seem to offset the negative effects of being overweight,” he added. “This result was also observed globally in men and women when they were [analyzed] separately.”
Lucia concluded that obesity and inactivity both need to be tackled.
“It should be a joint battle,” he said. “Weight loss must remain the main objective of health policies and promote active lifestyles.”
However, the study made no mention or diet recommendation – and when it comes to an example of physical activity, Lucia said, “Walking 30 minutes a day is better than walking 15 minutes a day. “
Sean Heffron, MD, a cardiologist at the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases at NYU Langone Health, pointed out that obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease – just like insufficient physical activity – but weight loss requires a formula. in two parts.
“Exercise in itself is not the kind of way to lose weight,” he says. “It’s complementary to have ideal body weight,” but improving your diet is the other piece of the puzzle.
“The ideal would certainly be to have both.”
[ad_2]
Source link