Overall fitness is more important than a person’s weight in avoiding a premature death, a new analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found.

Cardiorespiratory fitness, the analysis found, is a better predictor of cardiovascular disease and mortality than body mass index (BMI).

The new research reviewed 20 studies with almost 400,000 adults from different parts of the world. Researchers found that someone who is “normal weight” and unfit has a risk of death that’s twice as much as someone who is normal weight and fit.

If someone is obese and fit, the risk of death is about half that of someone who is normal weight but unfit.

The review defined fitness using a stress test and defined weight and obesity by using body mass index. The majority of studies classified people as fit if they get out of the bottom-20th percentile of fitness.

“People view exercise only as a means to losing calories, and we really ought to get away from that,” said Siddhartha Angadi, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development.

“You ought to exercise to improve your heart health, to improve your muscular health, to basically maintain your pulmonary function and so on. That is what is going to give you the most ‘bang for your buck’ from a health and disease perspective in the long term,” he added.

Generally, Angadi said, the findings suggest it’s more important to be physically fit than it is to be a lower weight.

Focusing on weight rather than overall fitness presents a set of challenges, Angadi said, because people who are overweight or clinically obese often get tasked with losing weight. Many do in the short term, but most people regain all of it in five to 10 years.

“So what do you do to improve health in that situation? The nice thing is that exercise is pretty accessible,” Angadi said. “When you’re talking about getting out of the bottom 20th percentile, when you’re talking about just getting a little more fit, it is reasonably achievable.”

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Image: Vyersoft

Exercise your Demons is a new spin on fitness games where you get in shape by fighting demons from hell right in your room.

After you carelessly sign a contract with the Demonomicon, a portal to hell opens in your world and countless demons pour out. The only way to repel these uninvited guests is to fight them off with brute force.

Under the tutelage of demonic instructors Ash and Zephyr, you will learn the proper moves such as ducking, dodging and smashing in the “Infernal Gym” and at locations such as Poison Blossom Park and the Ultimate Demon Derby.

Coming in December for Meta Quest

Studio Vyersoft promises a story campaign where you unlock new levels and cosmetic items using Impcoins and Soulbars, and thanks to an online leaderboard you can compete with others and see your physical progress in the game.

Exercise Your Demons will be released on December 12 in the Horizon Store. Meta Quest 3S, 3, 2 and Pro are supported. The price will be $20. The mixed reality game supports a range of languages.

Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Small additional amounts of exercise each day are associated with lower blood pressure (BP) in a free-living setting, according to a study published online Nov. 6 in Circulation.

Joanna M. Blodgett, Ph.D., from University College London, and colleagues investigated associations between a 24-hour behavior composition composed of six parts (sleeping, sedentary behavior, standing, slow walking, fast walking, and combined exercise-like activity [e.g., running and cycling]) and systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). The analysis included data from 14,761 participants in six cohorts of the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep consortium.

The researchers found that the average 24-hour composition consisted of sleeping (7.13 hours), sedentary behavior (10.7 hours), standing (3.2 hours), slow walking (1.6 hours), fast walking (1.1 hours), and exercise-like activity (16.0 minutes). Compared with other behaviors, more time spent exercising or sleeping was associated with lower BP. There were estimated reductions of –0.68 mm Hg SBP and –0.54 mm Hg DBP with an additional five minutes of exercise-like activity. Reallocating 20 to 27 minutes and 10 to 15 minutes of time in other behaviors into additional exercise was associated with clinically meaningful improvements in SBP and DBP, respectively. More time spent being sedentary was adversely associated with SBP and DBP, but there was minimal impact of standing or walking.

“If you want to change your blood pressure, putting more demand on the cardiovascular system through exercise will have the greatest effect,” Blodgett said in a statement.

One author holds equity in a company for products and services related to the study.

Abstract/Full Text