Hope for the heavyweights
This has generally been a crap day for me, but reading this article made me feel better:
A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the study found.
Obviously, this is not a license to stay fat, but it's heartening to see the medical establishment realize that even chunky people can still be healthy on an overall level. As long as you watch what you eat and engage in regular, sustained physical activity, the horror of a few extra pounds isn't such a serious deal after all.
I can attest to this on a personal level--at my local gym, I'm regularly in there longer and working out harder than many of the skinnier people I train alongside. Obviously, that's because I have to be, but it does my heart proud to see myself still going on the treadmill or StairMaster when other people have conked out. :)
And speaking of achievements, the way to my gym is up a long, steep service driveway hill next to my building. For the last month while I had the death plague, I couldn't go up that hill without having to stop and wheeze for breath. I feared I'd never be able to conquer that hill in a single unbroken walk again--but I have. :)
It's the little things. :)
A study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association found that regardless of their weight, people of middle age who remain fit are less likely to die for any reason than their sedentary counterparts. Even obese people benefited from regular, moderate exercise, seeing significant reductions in their risk of heart attack, stroke and other illnesses, the study found.
Obviously, this is not a license to stay fat, but it's heartening to see the medical establishment realize that even chunky people can still be healthy on an overall level. As long as you watch what you eat and engage in regular, sustained physical activity, the horror of a few extra pounds isn't such a serious deal after all.
I can attest to this on a personal level--at my local gym, I'm regularly in there longer and working out harder than many of the skinnier people I train alongside. Obviously, that's because I have to be, but it does my heart proud to see myself still going on the treadmill or StairMaster when other people have conked out. :)
And speaking of achievements, the way to my gym is up a long, steep service driveway hill next to my building. For the last month while I had the death plague, I couldn't go up that hill without having to stop and wheeze for breath. I feared I'd never be able to conquer that hill in a single unbroken walk again--but I have. :)
It's the little things. :)