(2004-09-17) Obesity Update

Sandy Szwarc reviews 3 documents on Obesity and Physical Fitness. Conclusions:

• Fitness (best measured by treadmill test, secondarily by Duke Activity Status Index) is a much better predictor of health than Obesity (weight, BMI, etc.) - death rates and heart disease among obese people, with just moderate fitness, are half that of "normal" weight people who aren't fit.

• The amount of exercise to attain this health-giving level of moderate Physical Fitness isn't much (Moderate Exercise), either, and has been proven in 24 clinical studies: it's merely 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. They say that's equivalent to 30 minutes, 5 times a week of: Walking, gardening, housework, bicycling, swimming or other activities enjoyed in daily life.

  • That still seems like a lot to me, in terms of finding time on 5 different days/week. At least once you're Having Kids.