People who are overweight but exercise regularly will likely live longer and healthier lives than those who are at or under their "ideal" weight but never make it to the gym or lace up a pair of running shoes.
So says a British research study reported by WebMD News. The study found that 20 minutes of determined walking could reduce one's risk of early death by as much as 30 percent.
This wasn't any tiny survey sample, either. The researcher team, led by a University of Cambridge scientist, examined data from some 334,000 individual health records. The 12-year study tracked height, weight, waist circumference and level of physical activity.
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"We estimated that eradicating physical inactivity in the population would reduce the number of deaths twice as much as if obesity was eradicated," said Ulf Ekelund, a senior investigator scientist in the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge.
The study reported that those who burned 90 to 110 calories a day with exercise could reduce the chance of an early demise by 16 percent to 30 percent. The reduction was greatest for those who carried their ideal weight. But even those labeled obese benefited greatly, the study said.
As part of the output from the research, the study found that twice as many early deaths were linked to lack of exercise as to obesity.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
