You can’t be fat and fit, say experts

They found the men that were fit were far less likely to die than the inactive – unless they were overweight.

The findings of a new study have cast a rather dark shadow on the notion that is it possible to be “fat but fit”.

The team also looked to see if risk of early death was linked to the level of aerobic fitness in those that are obese, as well as those of normal weight.

The researchers examined links between aerobic fitness and death later in life, as well as how obesity affected these results.

Professor Nordstrom and his team tracked the study subjects for 30 years, before reaching their conclusion that being slim is the key for long-term health.

Obese people with high levels of aerobic fitness were 30 per cent more likely to die prematurely, compared with those were slim but did little exercise, a study of 1.3 million men found.

Most research about whether a sedentary lifestyle can harm health has been carried out among older age groups.

So, if you are obese, even if doing lots of exercise, you are still at a risk of early death.

Having a low BMI is more important than being active if you want to live a long life, claim scientists.

Overall, men in the highest fifth of aerobic fitness had a 48-per-cent lower risk of death from any cause compared with those in the lowest fifth, the study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found.

The researchers aimed to see if high fitness levels can compensate for the health risks of being obese. By crunching the data available, they found some normal factors: that the men in the highest fifth of aerobic fitness died at the lowest rates, and that the highest death rates were among those who were tied to alcohol and drug abuse.

However, it was also noted that the benefits of aerobic fitness declined considerably in obese individuals, with normal-weight adults considered to be aerobically unfit showing a 30% lower death risk than those in the obese category.

Earlier this month, England’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, described obesity as a “national risk” which put it on a par with flu pandemics and terrorism. “So to have one or the other is always bad but to have both is critical”.