How Fitness Might Help You Live Longer

Brian and Amy explore a couple of articles talking about the impacts of weight loss vs. exercise on longevity, and discuss the myths surrounding losing weight and achieving optimal physical health. Learn why focusing on losing weight is the wrong goal, and why a proper strength training program is the best way to maintain fitness as we age. 

• There is a ton of information regarding health and fitness out there, and sometimes the info conflicts, so discerning the truth can be challenging.
• A recent article published in the New York Times essentially claimed that exercise is more important than weight loss for longevity. The behavior of exercising matters more statistically than losing weight, but that could be narrowed down to having a higher fitness level is more important than weight loss.
• Activity has its limitations related to weight loss and increasing longevity. Intentional exercise is a means to an end. The goal of which is to change the systems of the body for the better.
• Muscle quality is one of the #1 predictors of mortality. The exercise and muscle mass itself doesn’t increase your longevity, but they are correlated to the physiological effects that are.
• Weight loss is hard. It has to be combined with nutritional changes, and if your goal is to be thinner, the optimal path is to combine exercise that maximizes muscle health and proper whole foods nutrition. However, when it comes to overall health, there are positive changes outside of weight loss.
• The research looked at overweight and obese individuals with health problems, and they found that poeple that exercised effectively saw great results, whether or not they lost any weight.
• Exercising and improving the related biomarkers leads to better longevity, even more than people that simply lose weight by dieting.
• Blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin resistance are the measures that truly indicate someone’s health and overall longevity, far more than their weight.
• There are a number of ways to lose weight that are extremely unhealthy. Cutting calories without strength training is one of the worst ways you can lose weight.
• Another study involved 81 sedentary overweight women and putting them into a walking program. At the end of 12 weeks, a few women had lost some body fat, but 55 of them had actually gained weight. Just moving your body will not cause weight loss, nor will it improve the systems of the body.
• In terms of exercise for anyone over the age of 30, we need to target the optimization of muscle mass and strength through exercise. Sarcopenia is the root cause of the deterioration of fitness as we age.
• Compared against each other, exercise is considerably more beneficial than simple weight loss. In some studies, weight loss had no improvement on mortality risk at all.
• Activity and weight loss are not enough. Even if you’ve had trouble losing weight in the past, you can make a huge difference in your health by starting an effective strength training program.