Q: Is it true that a low level of aerobic fitness is associated with a shorter life span?
A: Confirmation for such a conclusion comes from research conducted at the Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas.
More than 13,000 healthy men and women were given a preventive medical examination and a maximal treadmill exercise stress test to assess their aerobic fitness levels. At the time of the testing, none of the individuals displayed any evidence of heart disease or cancer.
During the eight-year study period, 240 men and 43 women died. An examination of the results of the study revealed:
- The higher the individual's initial fitness level, the lower the subsequent death rate from heart attack and cancer.
- No additional benefit was associated with possessing an extremely high level of fitness. In other words, well-conditioned aerobic athletes were at no lower risk of death than were active individuals with slightly above average fitness levels.
- The greatest reduction in risk for both sexes occurred as an individual moved from the lowest level of fitness ("poor") to the next lowest level ("below average"). These findings suggest that even a very modest improvement in fitness among the most unfit individuals provides a substantial health benefit.
The study's authors emphasized that the fitness level associated with the lowest mortality rate could be easily achieved by most adults if they simply walked briskly for 30 minutes or more every day.
The point to keep in mind is that many of the health benefits of physical activity can be derived at relatively moderate levels of exercise.
Source: Bryant, Cedric X. 101 Frequently Asked Questions about "Health & Fitness" and "Nutrition & Weight Control". Sagamore Publishing, 1999.
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