The real skinny on fitness … So it turns out that being “fat but fit” is actually a thing. Researchers from the University of Virginia found if you’re physically fit, your risk of dying from heart disease or other causes is about the same as someone with a “normal” weight. The real danger? Being out of shape, no matter your size. This study, which looked at nearly 400,000 people, found that those who are unfit are two to three times more likely to die from heart disease or other causes compared to their fit counterparts.
“Fitness, it turns out, is far more important than fatness when it comes to mortality risk,” says Siddhartha Angadi, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia. “Exercise is more than just a way to expend calories. It is excellent ‘medicine’ to optimize overall health and can largely reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death for people of all sizes.”