Fitness Doesn't Negate Risk of Fatness

[Guest guest]

The article below came with a table that is not viewable from what I could see, in the on-line version below. The table no doubt is shown in the study wwhich is in the New England Journal of Medicine (the famous Nurses Health Study).

__________________________________

Table

Lean Actives show no increased risk of mortality .

Overweight Actives show a 1.28% increased risk.

Obese Active show a 1.91% increased risk (or almost double the risk)

Lean Inactive:1 .55% increased risk

Overweight inactive: 1.64% increased risk

Obese inactive: 2.42% increased risk (or more than double)

___________________________

Fitness Doesn't Negate Risk of Fatness

By Rob Stein

Physical activity can offset some of the harmful health consequences of being overweight but cannot fully erase them, according to the biggest study to examine the relative benefits of being fit vs. fat.

The study of more than 115,000 female nurses found that weight and activity levels are both powerful predictors of longevity, and that being either overweight or sedentary independently increases the risk of death.

But the study concluded that the healthiest people are those who are both thin and physically active, a blow to those who have argued that fitness is more important than fatness and can offset the risks of being overweight.

Women who were obese and inactive had the highest mortality rate -- 2.4 times that of women who were thin and active. Those who were physically active despite being obese were still nearly twice as likely to die as those who were lean and active.

" Physical activity reduces the effects of being overweight, but it's far from removing all the increased risk associated with obesity, " said Hu, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the study being published in today's New England Journal of Medicine. " This data does not support the hypothesis that if you are physically active, you don't have to worry about your weight. "

Proponents of fitness welcomed the findings that physical activity is important but questioned the conclusion that being overweight and healthy were mutually exclusive.

" We live in a society where it's 'obesity, obesity, obesity,' and we're missing the point. Obesity is a symptom of poor behavior, which is physical inactivity and poor diet, " said S. Church, medical director of the Institute, a Dallas research center that focuses on fitness. " I'm still convinced it is possible to be overweight, active and healthy. "

But other experts said the new findings provide the most compelling evidence to date that while physical activity helps, any excess weight carries risks.

" You really can't override the adverse effects of being overweight merely by being fit, " said Arthur , an obesity expert at Washington University. " You can mitigate it to some extent but not completely. "

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including one-third who are obese, raising alarm that the nation is facing a public health crisis, because being overweight increases the risk for a host of health problems, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

A small but vocal cadre of researchers has argued that while being overweight can increase the risk for health problems, there has been too much emphasis on losing weight, which is very difficult for most people, and not enough on increasing physical activity, which is more attainable and could be more important.

The new study involved data collected between 1976 and 2000 on 116,564 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing project in which thousands of nurses are being tracked for years to study various factors affecting health. Those who were physically active for at least 3 1/2 hours each week were considered active -- and therefore fit. Lean was defined as having a body mass index -- a standard measurement of height and weight -- below 25.

The results show that " physical activity attenuates the effects of obesity, but it's far from removing all the increased mortality associated with obesity, " Hu said.

That held true for women who were overweight but not obese. Women who were overweight and inactive had a 64 percent elevated risk of mortality, compared with 28 percent higher risk for those who were overweight but active.

Being lean did not completely eliminate the risk associated with being inactive. Thin women who were sedentary had a 55 percent increased risk of dying compared with thin women who were physically active.

" This suggests that physical activity is important, even if you are lean, " Hu said. " Just because you are thin doesn't mean it's okay to be sedentary. "

Even though the study involved only women, the researchers said previous data suggest the findings probably hold true for men, as well.

For fitness advocates, the findings validated the importance of physical activity.

" This puts physical activity on par with obesity. That to me is critical. We see more and more people talking about physical activity for the sake of physical activity, " Church said. " These data show that there are health benefits associated with physical activity at any weight. "

Glenn A. Gaesser, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville who questions many assumptions about obesity, said the researchers did not consider whether those who were overweight had gained and lost weight repeatedly or taken diet drugs, which could account for the findings.

" Much of the health problems of the overweight could very well be due to weight fluctuation or the use of weight-loss medication, " Gaesser said.

More important, most people have great difficulty losing weight, while it is much more practical for them to become active.

" It's far easier to get a fat person fit than it is to get a fat person slim, " Gaesser said. " I think you'll have much more success going with a physical activity recommendation. "

Louis J. Aronne, president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, said that it is clear that both fitness and fatness are important.

" It's clearly not either fit or fat that's important, but both, " he said. " They both carry value. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Francesca:

Crossed post. I will have to take a closer look at this one. Thanks.

Rodney.

> The article below came with a table that is not viewable from what

I could

> see, in the on-line version below. The table no doubt is shown in

the study

> wwhich is in the New England Journal of Medicine (the famous Nurses

Health

> Study).

> __________________________________

>

> Table

> Lean Actives show no increased risk of mortality .

> Overweight Actives show a 1.28% increased risk.

> Obese Active show a 1.91% increased risk (or almost double the risk)

>

> Lean Inactive:1 .55% increased risk

> Overweight inactive: 1.64% increased risk

> Obese inactive: 2.42% increased risk (or more than double)

> ___________________________

>

> Fitness Doesn't Negate Risk of Fatness

>

> By Rob Stein

>

> Physical activity can offset some of the harmful health

consequences of

> being overweight but cannot fully erase them, according to the

biggest study

> to examine the relative benefits of being fit vs. fat.

>

> The study of more than 115,000 female nurses found that weight and

activity

> levels are both powerful predictors of longevity, and that being

either

> overweight or sedentary independently increases the risk of death.

>

> But the study concluded that the healthiest people are those who

are both

> thin and physically active, a blow to those who have argued that

fitness is

> more important than fatness and can offset the risks of being

overweight.

>

> Women who were obese and inactive had the highest mortality rate --

2.4

> times that of women who were thin and active. Those who were

physically

> active despite being obese were still nearly twice as likely to die

as those

> who were lean and active.

>

> " Physical activity reduces the effects of being overweight, but

it's far

> from removing all the increased risk associated with obesity, " said

> Hu, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the

Harvard

> School of Public Health, who led the study being published in

today's New

> England Journal of Medicine. " This data does not support the

hypothesis that

> if you are physically active, you don't have to worry about your

weight. "

>

> Proponents of fitness welcomed the findings that physical activity

is

> important but questioned the conclusion that being overweight and

healthy

> were mutually exclusive.

>

> " We live in a society where it's 'obesity, obesity, obesity,' and

we're

> missing the point. Obesity is a symptom of poor behavior, which is

physical

> inactivity and poor diet, " said S. Church, medical director

of the

> Institute, a Dallas research center that focuses on

fitness. " I'm

> still convinced it is possible to be overweight, active and

healthy. "

>

> But other experts said the new findings provide the most compelling

evidence

> to date that while physical activity helps, any excess weight

carries risks.

>

> " You really can't override the adverse effects of being overweight

merely by

> being fit, " said Arthur , an obesity expert at

Washington

> University. " You can mitigate it to some extent but not completely. "

>

> More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including one-

third who

> are obese, raising alarm that the nation is facing a public health

crisis,

> because being overweight increases the risk for a host of health

problems,

> including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

>

> A small but vocal cadre of researchers has argued that while being

> overweight can increase the risk for health problems, there has

been too

> much emphasis on losing weight, which is very difficult for most

people,

> and not enough on increasing physical activity, which is more

attainable and

> could be more important.

>

> The new study involved data collected between 1976 and 2000 on

116,564 women

> participating in the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing project in

which

> thousands of nurses are being tracked for years to study various

factors

> affecting health. Those who were physically active for at least 3

1/2 hours

> each week were considered active -- and therefore fit. Lean was

defined as

> having a body mass index -- a standard measurement of height and

weight --

> below 25.

>

> The results show that " physical activity attenuates the effects of

obesity,

> but it's far from removing all the increased mortality associated

with

> obesity, " Hu said.

>

> That held true for women who were overweight but not obese. Women

who were

> overweight and inactive had a 64 percent elevated risk of mortality,

> compared with 28 percent higher risk for those who were overweight

but

> active.

>

> Being lean did not completely eliminate the risk associated with

being

> inactive. Thin women who were sedentary had a 55 percent increased

risk of

> dying compared with thin women who were physically active.

>

> " This suggests that physical activity is important, even if you are

lean, "

> Hu said. " Just because you are thin doesn't mean it's okay to be

> sedentary. "

>

> Even though the study involved only women, the researchers said

previous

> data suggest the findings probably hold true for men, as well.

>

> For fitness advocates, the findings validated the importance of

physical

> activity.

>

> " This puts physical activity on par with obesity. That to me is

critical. We

> see more and more people talking about physical activity for the

sake of

> physical activity, " Church said. " These data show that there are

health

> benefits associated with physical activity at any weight. "

>

> Glenn A. Gaesser, a professor of exercise physiology at the

University of

> Virginia in Charlottesville who questions many assumptions about

obesity,

> said the researchers did not consider whether those who were

overweight had

> gained and lost weight repeatedly or taken diet drugs, which could

account

> for the findings.

>

> " Much of the health problems of the overweight could very well be

due to

> weight fluctuation or the use of weight-loss medication, " Gaesser

said.

>

> More important, most people have great difficulty losing weight,

while it

> is much more practical for them to become active.

>

> " It's far easier to get a fat person fit than it is to get a fat

person

> slim, " Gaesser said. " I think you'll have much more success going

with a

> physical activity recommendation. "

>

> Louis J. Aronne, president of the North American Association for

the Study

> of Obesity, said that it is clear that both fitness and fatness are

> important.

>

> " It's clearly not either fit or fat that's important, but both, " he

said.

> " They both carry value. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Francesca:

Yes, excellent, thanks, I can believe those numbers - especially

since they come from the Nurses' Study. They are talking about 3.5

hours 'activity' per week. I wonder what qualifies as activity?

INACTIVE:

..... BMI > 30 -- Risk = 2.42 - More than double the mortality.

..... BMI 25-30 - Risk = 1.64 -

..... BMI < 25 -- Risk = 1.55 -

ACTIVE:

..... BMI > 30 -- Risk = 1.91 - almost double the mortality.

..... BMI 25-30 - Risk = 1.28 - compared with controls.

..... BMI < 25 -- Risk = 1.00 - base control group.

So some exercise is definitely beneficial. And those numbers also

demonstrate very clearly the ***accelerating*** mortality with

increasing weight.

I must have missed that post when it was originally posted. So

thanks for re-posting it. Perhaps it is so fundamental it ought to

be in the files/links or whatever?

Rodney.

> > The article below came with a table that is not viewable from

what

> I could

> > see, in the on-line version below. The table no doubt is shown

in

> the study

> > wwhich is in the New England Journal of Medicine (the famous

Nurses

> Health

> > Study).

> > __________________________________

> >

> > Table

> > Lean Actives show no increased risk of mortality .

> > Overweight Actives show a 1.28% increased risk.

> > Obese Active show a 1.91% increased risk (or almost double the

risk)

> >

> > Lean Inactive:1 .55% increased risk

> > Overweight inactive: 1.64% increased risk

> > Obese inactive: 2.42% increased risk (or more than double)

> > ___________________________

> >

> > Fitness Doesn't Negate Risk of Fatness

> >

> > By Rob Stein

> >

> > Physical activity can offset some of the harmful health

> consequences of

> > being overweight but cannot fully erase them, according to the

> biggest study

> > to examine the relative benefits of being fit vs. fat.

> >

> > The study of more than 115,000 female nurses found that weight

and

> activity

> > levels are both powerful predictors of longevity, and that being

> either

> > overweight or sedentary independently increases the risk of death.

> >

> > But the study concluded that the healthiest people are those who

> are both

> > thin and physically active, a blow to those who have argued that

> fitness is

> > more important than fatness and can offset the risks of being

> overweight.

> >

> > Women who were obese and inactive had the highest mortality rate -

-

> 2.4

> > times that of women who were thin and active. Those who were

> physically

> > active despite being obese were still nearly twice as likely to

die

> as those

> > who were lean and active.

> >

> > " Physical activity reduces the effects of being overweight, but

> it's far

> > from removing all the increased risk associated with obesity, "

said

>

> > Hu, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the

> Harvard

> > School of Public Health, who led the study being published in

> today's New

> > England Journal of Medicine. " This data does not support the

> hypothesis that

> > if you are physically active, you don't have to worry about your

> weight. "

> >

> > Proponents of fitness welcomed the findings that physical

activity

> is

> > important but questioned the conclusion that being overweight and

> healthy

> > were mutually exclusive.

> >

> > " We live in a society where it's 'obesity, obesity, obesity,'

and

> we're

> > missing the point. Obesity is a symptom of poor behavior, which

is

> physical

> > inactivity and poor diet, " said S. Church, medical

director

> of the

> > Institute, a Dallas research center that focuses on

> fitness. " I'm

> > still convinced it is possible to be overweight, active and

> healthy. "

> >

> > But other experts said the new findings provide the most

compelling

> evidence

> > to date that while physical activity helps, any excess weight

> carries risks.

> >

> > " You really can't override the adverse effects of being

overweight

> merely by

> > being fit, " said Arthur , an obesity expert at

> Washington

> > University. " You can mitigate it to some extent but not

completely. "

> >

> > More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including one-

> third who

> > are obese, raising alarm that the nation is facing a public

health

> crisis,

> > because being overweight increases the risk for a host of health

> problems,

> > including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

> >

> > A small but vocal cadre of researchers has argued that while

being

> > overweight can increase the risk for health problems, there has

> been too

> > much emphasis on losing weight, which is very difficult for most

> people,

> > and not enough on increasing physical activity, which is more

> attainable and

> > could be more important.

> >

> > The new study involved data collected between 1976 and 2000 on

> 116,564 women

> > participating in the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing project in

> which

> > thousands of nurses are being tracked for years to study various

> factors

> > affecting health. Those who were physically active for at least 3

> 1/2 hours

> > each week were considered active -- and therefore fit. Lean was

> defined as

> > having a body mass index -- a standard measurement of height and

> weight --

> > below 25.

> >

> > The results show that " physical activity attenuates the effects

of

> obesity,

> > but it's far from removing all the increased mortality associated

> with

> > obesity, " Hu said.

> >

> > That held true for women who were overweight but not obese. Women

> who were

> > overweight and inactive had a 64 percent elevated risk of

mortality,

> > compared with 28 percent higher risk for those who were

overweight

> but

> > active.

> >

> > Being lean did not completely eliminate the risk associated with

> being

> > inactive. Thin women who were sedentary had a 55 percent

increased

> risk of

> > dying compared with thin women who were physically active.

> >

> > " This suggests that physical activity is important, even if you

are

> lean, "

> > Hu said. " Just because you are thin doesn't mean it's okay to be

> > sedentary. "

> >

> > Even though the study involved only women, the researchers said

> previous

> > data suggest the findings probably hold true for men, as well.

> >

> > For fitness advocates, the findings validated the importance of

> physical

> > activity.

> >

> > " This puts physical activity on par with obesity. That to me is

> critical. We

> > see more and more people talking about physical activity for the

> sake of

> > physical activity, " Church said. " These data show that there are

> health

> > benefits associated with physical activity at any weight. "

> >

> > Glenn A. Gaesser, a professor of exercise physiology at the

> University of

> > Virginia in Charlottesville who questions many assumptions about

> obesity,

> > said the researchers did not consider whether those who were

> overweight had

> > gained and lost weight repeatedly or taken diet drugs, which

could

> account

> > for the findings.

> >

> > " Much of the health problems of the overweight could very well be

> due to

> > weight fluctuation or the use of weight-loss medication, " Gaesser

> said.

> >

> > More important, most people have great difficulty losing weight,

> while it

> > is much more practical for them to become active.

> >

> > " It's far easier to get a fat person fit than it is to get a fat

> person

> > slim, " Gaesser said. " I think you'll have much more success going

> with a

> > physical activity recommendation. "

> >

> > Louis J. Aronne, president of the North American Association for

> the Study

> > of Obesity, said that it is clear that both fitness and fatness

are

> > important.

> >

> > " It's clearly not either fit or fat that's important, but both, "

he

> said.

> > " They both carry value. "

[Guest guest]

Hi Francesca:

This I think is the Pubmed abstract of that study:

" Adiposity as compared with physical activity in predicting mortality

among women.

Hu FB, Willett WC, Li T, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Manson JE.

Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston,

Copyright 2004 Massachusetts Medical Society. USA.

frank.hu@...

BACKGROUND: Whether higher levels of physical activity can counteract

the elevated risk of death associated with adiposity is

controversial. METHODS: We examined the associations of the body-mass

index and physical activity with death among 116,564 women who, in

1976, were 30 to 55 years of age and free of known cardiovascular

disease and cancer. RESULTS: During 24 years of follow-up, 10,282

deaths occurred--2370 from cardiovascular disease, 5223 from cancer,

and 2689 from other causes. Mortality rates increased monotonically

with higher body-mass-index values among women who had never smoked

(P for trend <0.001). In combined analyses of all participants,

adiposity predicted a higher risk of death regardless of the level of

physical activity. Higher levels of physical activity appeared to be

beneficial at all levels of adiposity but did not eliminate the

higher risk of death associated with obesity. As compared with women

who were lean (i.e., they had a body-mass index lower than 25) and

active (they spent 3.5 or more hours exercising per week), the

multivariate relative risks of death were 1.55 (95 percent confidence

interval, 1.42 to 1.70) for lean and inactive women, 1.91 (95 percent

confidence interval, 1.60 to 2.30) for women who were obese (defined

as a body-mass index of 30 or higher) but active, and 2.42 (95

percent confidence interval, 2.14 to 2.73) for inactive, obese women.

Even modest weight gain during adulthood, independent of physical

activity, was associated with a higher risk of death. We estimate

that excess weight (defined as a body-mass index of 25 or higher) and

physical inactivity (less than 3.5 hours of exercise per week)

together could account for 31 percent of all premature deaths, 59

percent of deaths from cardiovascular disease, and 21 percent of

deaths from cancer among nonsmoking women. CONCLUSIONS: Both

increased adiposity and reduced physical activity are strong and

independent predictors of death. Copyright 2004 Massachusetts Medical

Society.

PMID: 15616204 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] "

Rodney.

> > > The article below came with a table that is not viewable from

> what

> > I could

> > > see, in the on-line version below. The table no doubt is shown

> in

> > the study

> > > wwhich is in the New England Journal of Medicine (the famous

> Nurses

> > Health

> > > Study).

> > > __________________________________

> > >

> > > Table

> > > Lean Actives show no increased risk of mortality .

> > > Overweight Actives show a 1.28% increased risk.

> > > Obese Active show a 1.91% increased risk (or almost double the

> risk)

> > >

> > > Lean Inactive:1 .55% increased risk

> > > Overweight inactive: 1.64% increased risk

> > > Obese inactive: 2.42% increased risk (or more than double)

> > > ___________________________

> > >

> > > Fitness Doesn't Negate Risk of Fatness

> > >

> > > By Rob Stein

> > >

> > > Physical activity can offset some of the harmful health

> > consequences of

> > > being overweight but cannot fully erase them, according to the

> > biggest study

> > > to examine the relative benefits of being fit vs. fat.

> > >

> > > The study of more than 115,000 female nurses found that weight

> and

> > activity

> > > levels are both powerful predictors of longevity, and that

being

> > either

> > > overweight or sedentary independently increases the risk of

death.

> > >

> > > But the study concluded that the healthiest people are those

who

> > are both

> > > thin and physically active, a blow to those who have argued

that

> > fitness is

> > > more important than fatness and can offset the risks of being

> > overweight.

> > >

> > > Women who were obese and inactive had the highest mortality

rate -

> -

> > 2.4

> > > times that of women who were thin and active. Those who were

> > physically

> > > active despite being obese were still nearly twice as likely to

> die

> > as those

> > > who were lean and active.

> > >

> > > " Physical activity reduces the effects of being overweight, but

> > it's far

> > > from removing all the increased risk associated with obesity, "

> said

> >

> > > Hu, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the

> > Harvard

> > > School of Public Health, who led the study being published in

> > today's New

> > > England Journal of Medicine. " This data does not support the

> > hypothesis that

> > > if you are physically active, you don't have to worry about

your

> > weight. "

> > >

> > > Proponents of fitness welcomed the findings that physical

> activity

> > is

> > > important but questioned the conclusion that being overweight

and

> > healthy

> > > were mutually exclusive.

> > >

> > > " We live in a society where it's 'obesity, obesity, obesity,'

> and

> > we're

> > > missing the point. Obesity is a symptom of poor behavior, which

> is

> > physical

> > > inactivity and poor diet, " said S. Church, medical

> director

> > of the

> > > Institute, a Dallas research center that focuses on

> > fitness. " I'm

> > > still convinced it is possible to be overweight, active and

> > healthy. "

> > >

> > > But other experts said the new findings provide the most

> compelling

> > evidence

> > > to date that while physical activity helps, any excess weight

> > carries risks.

> > >

> > > " You really can't override the adverse effects of being

> overweight

> > merely by

> > > being fit, " said Arthur , an obesity expert at

> > Washington

> > > University. " You can mitigate it to some extent but not

> completely. "

> > >

> > > More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including one-

> > third who

> > > are obese, raising alarm that the nation is facing a public

> health

> > crisis,

> > > because being overweight increases the risk for a host of

health

> > problems,

> > > including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

> > >

> > > A small but vocal cadre of researchers has argued that while

> being

> > > overweight can increase the risk for health problems, there has

> > been too

> > > much emphasis on losing weight, which is very difficult for

most

> > people,

> > > and not enough on increasing physical activity, which is more

> > attainable and

> > > could be more important.

> > >

> > > The new study involved data collected between 1976 and 2000 on

> > 116,564 women

> > > participating in the Nurses' Health Study, an ongoing project

in

> > which

> > > thousands of nurses are being tracked for years to study

various

> > factors

> > > affecting health. Those who were physically active for at least

3

> > 1/2 hours

> > > each week were considered active -- and therefore fit. Lean was

> > defined as

> > > having a body mass index -- a standard measurement of height

and

> > weight --

> > > below 25.

> > >

> > > The results show that " physical activity attenuates the effects

> of

> > obesity,

> > > but it's far from removing all the increased mortality

associated

> > with

> > > obesity, " Hu said.

> > >

> > > That held true for women who were overweight but not obese.

Women

> > who were

> > > overweight and inactive had a 64 percent elevated risk of

> mortality,

> > > compared with 28 percent higher risk for those who were

> overweight

> > but

> > > active.

> > >

> > > Being lean did not completely eliminate the risk associated

with

> > being

> > > inactive. Thin women who were sedentary had a 55 percent

> increased

> > risk of

> > > dying compared with thin women who were physically active.

> > >

> > > " This suggests that physical activity is important, even if you

> are

> > lean, "

> > > Hu said. " Just because you are thin doesn't mean it's okay to

be

> > > sedentary. "

> > >

> > > Even though the study involved only women, the researchers said

> > previous

> > > data suggest the findings probably hold true for men, as well.

> > >

> > > For fitness advocates, the findings validated the importance of

> > physical

> > > activity.

> > >

> > > " This puts physical activity on par with obesity. That to me is

> > critical. We

> > > see more and more people talking about physical activity for

the

> > sake of

> > > physical activity, " Church said. " These data show that there

are

> > health

> > > benefits associated with physical activity at any weight. "

> > >

> > > Glenn A. Gaesser, a professor of exercise physiology at the

> > University of

> > > Virginia in Charlottesville who questions many assumptions

about

> > obesity,

> > > said the researchers did not consider whether those who were

> > overweight had

> > > gained and lost weight repeatedly or taken diet drugs, which

> could

> > account

> > > for the findings.

> > >

> > > " Much of the health problems of the overweight could very well

be

> > due to

> > > weight fluctuation or the use of weight-loss medication, "

Gaesser

> > said.

> > >

> > > More important, most people have great difficulty losing

weight,

> > while it

> > > is much more practical for them to become active.

> > >

> > > " It's far easier to get a fat person fit than it is to get a

fat

> > person

> > > slim, " Gaesser said. " I think you'll have much more success

going

> > with a

> > > physical activity recommendation. "

> > >

> > > Louis J. Aronne, president of the North American Association

for

> > the Study

> > > of Obesity, said that it is clear that both fitness and fatness

> are

> > > important.

> > >

> > > " It's clearly not either fit or fat that's important, but

both, "

> he

> > said.

> > > " They both carry value. "