Exercise, not dieting, helps seniors live longer

The fitness level of older adults who are also obese can help them extend their life-span, meaning staying fit is more important than loosing fat in old age, suggests a new report that published in the Journal of the American Medicine Association.

Older obese adults who exercise daily live longer than those who are thin but exercise less, says the study. In the 12-year study, researchers from the University of South Carolina investigated the relationships between fitness, body fat and death in older Americans.

"Fitness level is a strong predictor for risk of dying in older adults," said Dr. Steven N. Blair, University of South Carolina diet and exercise researcher who is also one of the authors of the study. "There is a great benefit to being fit, even if you are, in fact, obese."

The study involved more than twenty six hundred American adults ages 60 and older, whose level of fitness was attained via a treadmill test. All the participants also received detailed health examinations, including measurements of their body mass index (BMI), waist size, and body fat.

During the research, experts found that those study participants who engaged in cardiovascular activity were living longer than those of an average normal weight but not fit. They noted that death rates for those with the highest fitness levels were less than half that of those who were physically not active.

In brief, cardiovascular fitness is a strong predictor of longevity for older adults, regardless of body fat. Furthermore, that elderly people who are both fit and obese suffer half the death rate of unfit people who are of normal weight, but are lazy, says the report, challenging a common assumption that a person can not be healthy if he or she cannot shed the fat.

During the average follow-up of 12 years, researchers noted 450 deaths, all of which were more likely due to the lower fitness levels and more cardiovascular risk factors than survivors.

"People should focus instead on healthy eating and exercise, and stop obsessing about carrying a few extra pounds or becoming supermodel thin," says the scientist who led the project, Prof Steven Blair

Adults can be physically active by walking briskly for half an hour a day, and five days a week is enough for older people to achieve moderate physical fitness. They can also engage in recreational activities like golf, swimming or dance classes.

Obesity is a gateway to heart disease, diabetes and a host of other diseases. According to American Obesity Association (AOA), obesity is a complex, multi-factorial chronic disease involving environmental (social and cultural), genetic, physiologic, metabolic, behavioral and psychological components. It is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.

Approximately 127 million adults in the United States are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese, and the majority of adults do not get enough physical activity, Blair said.