Why Thinness Does Not Equal Fitness

If you were abandoned on a desert island and could only eat one thing, what would that one thing be?

You have the choice between a book, a television or radio. Whatever you choose you can enjoy for the remainder of your life, the others you must abandon. What do you choose?

While few to none of us have ever had to make such choices, you no doubt have asked yourself this question – or some variation of it – at least once before. 
Now ask yourself this: If you had to be either physically active and fat or sedentary and skinny, which lifestyle is the better one from a standpoint of health? If you guessed the latter, guess again.

According to scientists who recently asked themselves this question, the overweight and physically active tend to live longer, healthier lives when compared to those who lead sedentary lifestyles, yet are skinny.

Researchers from the University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!) came to this conclusion after a 12-year study that looked into the fitness levels and girth of 2600 people over the age of 59. Determining the participants’ fitness level was fairly cut and dry: seeing how long each participant could walk on a treadmill as its incline increased. Determining the participants’ girth was a bit more involved. That entailed measuring each participant’s waistline, their body mass index and their body fat percentage.

At the study’s conclusion, the researchers found little correlation between the participants’ mortality and their being overweight or not, but they did find correlation between how fit a person was and whether or not they died over the 12-year study. Quite simply, those that were in the lowest of the five tiered fitness scale (researchers put the participants in one of five fitness categories, one being the most fit, five being the least fit) were four times more likely to die than those in the top tier. But the likelihood of mortality was not relegated to the most fit and the least fit. In fact, the participants in the most unfit group were two times more likely to have died during the 12-year period as those next to last in unfitness. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

While many of us would opt for thinness over fitness – as one’s thinness has become synonymous with one’s level of fitness in our appearance-driven society – the most important reason behind our exercise habits ought to pertain to how long and how healthy a life we want to lead and enjoy with our friends and families. I’m sure you can think of lots of people who attend your local gym religiously, yet they don’t exactly embody the svelte-like physique of a Greek Adonis. Part of this might be diet-related, sure, but it’s just as likely that their genetic makeup restricts them from being any thinner than they already are.

All that said, I am a realist and know that the brunt of us exercise to improve our physical attractiveness both to ourselves and to others. Fortunately, combining proper eating with regular exercise will do the trick if we want to slim down. But it’s my hope that for those of us who eat right and exercise regularly, yet still can’t lose that extra few pounds, those efforts aren’t made in vain. They will bear fruit in the end – literally – by living longer, healthier lives compared to skinny, out-of-shape lollygaggers.