PTI

London, Dec 5: If you want to live longer, lose weight, so say various studies.

But, not anymore. There is another, more effective way to increase your longevity, it's by staying fit, even if you're obese.

A team of international researchers has carried out a study and found that people who are both fit and obese suffer half the death rate of their averagely weighted or slim but unfit peers, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported on Wednesday.

"People should focus instead on healthy eating and exercise, and stop obsessing about carrying a few extra pounds or becoming supermodel thin. If you are fit, you get a lot of protection," according to lead researcher Prof Steven Blair of the University of South Carolina, Columbia.

The researchers came to the conclusion after examining the associations between heart fitness, various measures of adiposity, that is body fat, and death in a group of more than 2,000 people, all 60-plus.

All the participants did a treadmill exercise test. The team assessed how plump they were using body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and body fat measurements. There were 450 deaths during an average follow-up of 12 years.

According to their findings, those who died were older, had lower fitness levels, and had more cardiovascular risk factors than survivors. However, there're no significant differences in how fat they were.

Participants who were in the higher fitness groups were for the most part less likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol levels.