Moving is more important than....

Moving is more important than what you weigh.

A 2-decade study, the results of which were published in the August 2005 International Journal of Obesity, looked at a wide range of lifestyle and health factors in order to gauge the effect of physical activity and body mass index (BMI) on the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other causes of death.

Researchers gave questionnaires to 22,528 Finnish men and 24,684 Finnish women, ages 25 to 64, asking them for information on smoking, exercise, socioeconomic factors, and medical history. In addition, their height, weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol were measured.

What they found was that the most active adults were significantly less likely to have died from cardiovascular disease, cancer, or any cause than the least active adults. A BMI in the obese range also increased the risk of death in all three categories, but not as much as being inactive did.

They also concluded that being both obese and inactive created more of a likelihood of dying from heart disease than from cancer.