A study of 9,000 men and women in Australia found that being a little overweight didn’t impact mortality. The groups that were most likely to die were persons who were underweight or obese. However, the amount of exercise a person engaged in, rather than what the scale read, was the most critical factor in determining longevity.
Women who had a sedentary lifestyle had twice the mortality risk of others in the study; for men, it was 28 percent higher. In light of this research and his own conclusions as a physician, Dr. Andrew Weil encourages us not to stress if we can’t reach the ideal weight in the actuarial tables, but instead to focus on maintaining optimum health by eating right and being physically active. This is the focus of our Fat 2 Fit community, and this study supports our strategy.
Photo courtesy of Ariel da Silva Parreira
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