For decades we have believed that to live longer if it were enough to maintain a normal weight. We'll let you in on a secret: it's not like that. A new study on mortality risk He analyzed a huge number of cases for 40 years, and the results are astonishing.
A breakthrough in understanding longevity
If you grew up in the 90s, you probably remember the diet commercials and the obsession with thinness. But science has just dropped a bombshell that will shake the fitness world: the Cardiorespiratory fitness is much more important than weight when it comes to mortality risk.
A team of American and British researchers analyzed 20 studies published between 1980 and 2023, examining a sample of nearly 400.000 people. The kinesiologist Nathan Weeldryer ofUniversity of Virginia highlights how society tends to mistakenly equate weight with health.
Risk of premature mortality: physical fitness beats thinness
Training, in the end, is much more important than weight when it comes to mortality risk.
These words from the exercise physiologist Siddhartha Angadi perfectly summarize the study's findings. An overweight but trained person has the same life expectancy as a slim, fit person. In fact, if you're fit but a little chubby, you might live longer than someone who's slim but never works out.
The True Meaning of Exercise
Exercise isn’t just a way to burn calories, as we used to think in the days of aerobics videos (GenZ, you’ll never understand). It’s a real “medicine” that optimizes overall health and can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, no matter what size jeans you wear.
The study, published in British Journal of Sports Medicine (I link it here), does not deny the problems associated with obesity. With 1 in 8 people in the world classified as obese, It's impossible to ignore the pressures that excess weight puts on the body.
Rethinking public health strategies
The results of this study could revolutionize health policies. Instead of obsessing over the weight loss, we should focus on how to make people more physically active. As the old saying goes: better a fit gorilla than a lazy gazelle. The research not only challenges our beliefs about mortality risk, but also invites us to rethink our relationship with our bodies and exercise. It's no longer about looking a certain way, but about feeling good and functioning.
What do you think? Maybe it's time to stop torturing ourselves with crash diets and start enjoying exercise more, in whatever form it makes us feel good. After all, science now tells us that this is the real secret to a longer and healthier life.
