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Trying to lose weight? Fitness may protect your heart, even if you have extra pounds

February 20, 2012

Worried about the health of your heart while trying to win the battle of the bulge!

Exercising and getting fit may protect your heart, even if you have a few extra pounds, according to a study published in the Feb. 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).

The study, which was led by Dr. Duck-chul Lee of the Arnold School of Public Health, is one of the first to examine how a change in fitness or fatness (or both) affects development of hypertension, high cholesterol and metabolic syndrome, defined by a large waistline, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high blood sugar while fasting and high blood pressure.

"Although improving fitness and losing fatness is ideally the best combination, our study also shows that as long as individuals maintain their fitness and fatness levels, which is less challenging, they are not likely to be at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease risk factors," said Lee, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Exercise Science.

In an effort to determine how changes in fitness and fatness affect heart health, a U.S. research team studied 3,148 healthy adults over a six-year period.

The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS) enrolled healthy men and women between 1979 and 2006, analyzing how their fitness and fatness levels changed over time and how that related to the development of hypertension, metabolic syndrome and hypercholesterolemia. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured through a treadmill test, and body fatness was calculated through a skinfold test and body mass index. Fatness and fitness were considered independently and then together to get a complete understanding.

At the end of the study, the researchers found:

• 752 participants had developed hypertension, 426 had developed metabolic syndrome, and 597 participants had developed high cholesterol.
• Participants who maintained or improved their fitness level had a significantly lower risk of developing any of the three risk factors, compared with those whose fitness level had dropped. (24 percent and 23 percent for hypertension, 38 and 41 percent for metabolic syndrome and 25 percent and 26 percent for high cholesterol)
• Individuals who had gained fat had a significantly higher risk for developing any of the three risk factors (24 percent for hypertension, 52 percent for metabolic syndrome and 41 percent for higher cholesterol.)
• •The researchers found that maintaining or improving fitness lessened —although not completely eliminated —the increased risk caused by gaining fat. Similarly, reducing body fat appeared to counteract part of the increased risk associated with losing fitness. In addition, those who maintained their fitness and fatness did not have higher risks of developing the three risk factors compared to those who gained fitness and lost fatness.

The study is the second by Lee in recent months to receive national and international media attention. The current study has been published on health-related Web sites, as well as Reuters, the Chicago Tribune, U.S.News and World Report, China Daily, Reuters UK and Reuters India.

Arnold School researchers Dr. Mei Sui and Dr. Steve Blair were co-authors on the article.

(Margaret Lamb of USC News and Communications contributed to this article.)

      

Dr. Steve Blair of the Arnold School of Public Health has gone viral

Or rather, it's his research on physical activity and health that has made its way to YouTube in a big way. And judging by the number of people who have viewed the video, you might even say the message is "catching."

The YouTube video, "23 and ½ Hours: What Is the Single Best Thing We Can Do for Our Health?," has been viewed by more than 1.7 million people since being uploaded in December by Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and an associate professor of family medicine and public health at the University of Toronto.

Evans created the nine-minute "video lecture" with fast-paced illustrations to reinforce the message that 30 minutes of physical activity – moderate intensity – on five or more days a week can improve health and reduce the risks for many major health problems, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, depression, anxiety and some forms of cancer.

Research by Blair and his colleagues over the past 30 years have contributed to the current physical activity recommendations, on which Evans based the video. By adding moderate physical activity for just 30 minutes out of 24 hours results in about a 50 percent reduction in mortality risk, Blair said.

And that is the single best thing that "Doc Mike" is telling people through his lively lecture via YouTube.

To check out it out, visit http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo.

Blair, who was recently awarded the inaugural Bloomberg-Manuliff Prize for the Promotion of Active Health, makes his debut at about two minutes and 45 seconds into the video. The artist for the video draws a "portrait" of Blair. Check it out!