Exercise Alone Only Goes So Far

runnerswife · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 33

A new report from the Harvard School of Public Health brings bad news for heavy athletes. Regular exercise alone isn't enough to stay healthy; you must keep your body weight in check too. There's been some recent speculation that if you were especially active, you didn't need to worry as much about your body weight or diet. However, the Harvard study found that excess weight by itself can take years off your life, even if you get plenty of exercise.

The 28 year study followed the exercise habits and medical histories of more than 100,000 women. It concluded that both weight and activity level were strongly correlated to life expectancy, and that being either overweight or sedentary independently increased the risk of death. Women who were active but obese had twice the risk of death compared to those who were both active and slender. Sedentary but slender women faced a 55 percent higher risk of death, and the sedentary and obese group was almost 2 1/2 times more likely to die early.

The full text of the study can be found in the New England Journal of Medicine.