Lean, physically inactive men 115% greater risk of death than most active lean men after adjustments

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Wednesday, October 07, 2009 8:52 am Email this article
After excluding

• the first 3 years of follow-up


• current and former smokers


• those who had lost weight from age 20 years to age at baseline


• heavy manual workers

lean (BMI less than 25) physically inactive men, 45- to 79-years-old, were 115 percent more likely to die during a 9.7 year followup -- that is, 2.2 times more likely to die -- than the one-third of lean men (BMI less than 25) who were the most physically active according to a recent study of 37,633 men men. Conclusion #1

Conclusion: Overweight and physical inactivity predict the risk of death

“We conclude that both overweight and physical inactivity are important predictors of mortality,” the paper concludes.

 

Conclusion #2

Conclusion: Exercise does NOT compensate for the increased risk of death due to being overweight

“Our findings do not support the hypothesis that a higher level of physical activity compensates the excess mortality associated with overweight and obesity,” they also note.

REFERENCE

Orsini N, Bellocco R, Bottai M, Pagano M, Michaelsson K, Wolk A. Combined effects of obesity and physical activity in predicting mortality among men. J Intern Med. 2008 Nov, 264(5):442-51.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Nicola Orsini
Division of Nutritional Epidemiology
Institute of Environmental Medicine
Karolinska Institutet
Stockholm, Sweden
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Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Death, Risk of

• Exercise