[Advanced] Weight Loss Out, Fitness In (2)

The levels of physical activity that yielded such benefits were modest. The authors of the study observed an uptick in life span even among those whose physical activity fell short of what's recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization.

Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who was not involved in the research, called the study "very conclusive" and said its enormous scale — it culls data from six major study populations totaling more than 632,000 people — bolstered the strength of its findings.

"We have to set priorities with patients," Lopez-Jimenez said. "First and foremost is to get sedentary obese people to become as active as they can and not to use their weight as a measure of their success. Sometimes, we tend to focus too much on the weight issue and too little on the exercise part of it."

The latest study adds to mounting evidence that a sedentary lifestyle may trump obesity as a corrosive influence on health. In recent years, researchers have found that exercise, even when not accompanied by weight loss, powerfully affects a range of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

"We have to get people to understand that it's not all about weight," said Dr. Robert Sallis, a sports medicine specialist with Kaiser Permanente in Fontana who has spearheaded the Exercise Is Medicine initiative under the auspices of the American College of Sports Medicine. "Not everyone can lose weight. But everyone can get fit."


Steven Moore, an epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute, notes "You can't lose 30 pounds tomorrow," he said. "But you can start exercising."



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