HHS HealthBeat (January 31, 2008)

Fitness and fatness

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Being fit can help older people live longer. Researcher Steve Blair looked at data on fitness and weight among people over age 60.

`` It was the total amount of activity they got, the kids who moved around more tended to have lower blood pressure. And it was pretty much the same in the boys and the girls.’’ (9 seconds)

Blair, who’s at the University of South Carolina, looked at data on weight and physical activity in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. His work, which was in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Blair found that, when he divided people into groups by weight, the people in those groups who were fit generally outlived those who were not. The more fit people were less likely to have heart disease risk factors.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January, 30 2008