Who doesn't want to live longer?
As a personal trainer, I've seen people go to great lengths to increase their life expectancy. People try all sorts of crazy diets and workout plans to stay healthy.
The problem is that fitness is often overcomplicated. It can be hard to know what actions actually more the needle when it comes to your health.
A recent study may shed some light on the issue of increasing your life expectancy.
New Study
Professors Glenn Gaesser and Siddhartha Angadi reviewed more than 200 relevant meta-analyses and individual studies. Their results were posted in iScience and showed that it's more important to focus on exercise than weight loss.
The professors found that premature death dropped by 30% or more when sedentary people started exercising. Alternatively, when people of higher weights dieted and lost weight, their risk of death only dropped by 16%.
Dr. Gaesser went as far as to state that:
“You do not need to lose weight to be healthy. You will be better off, in terms of mortality risk, by increasing your physical activity and fitness than by intentionally losing weight.” Dr. Gaesser
Final Thoughts
To be clear, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't lose weight. But, it's worth stating that weight loss can be somewhat overemphasized.
Regardless of your age or current weight, being more active is a good idea. The CDC has long touted the benefits of physical activity.
Thankfully, you don't have to train like a professional athlete to enjoy the benefits of physical activity. Simply doing a little more than you do currently is a great place to start. You can increase the difficulty slowly over time.
Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before starting any new workout plans.
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