Yup, for all the risks that people focus on (microplastics, pesticide residues, etc), they don't do the easiest thing to ensure health - exercise.
Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
111–120 of 556 posts
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#112I am disappointed by how poor primary care is in the developed world. It could easily be made better by including a VO2Max test and a DEXA scan every few years. On my own dime, I took both (cost was ~ $150 total from a private provider) and the DEXA scan revealed I carried too much visceral fat and my cardiovascular fitness was only average, things that never came up in my yearly physical. The same applies for basic…
The highest impact diagnostic of all cause mortality is a scale. The next best is a mirror.
Most people have these at home and fail to take meaningful action based on the results.
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#113Are there cheap fitness bands or smart watches that can somewhat accurately track VO2 max?
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#114The Apple watch has a decent cardio fitness monitor. The absolute values aren't precise (since it uses VO2Max estimates, which is really only accurate if you're doing a metabolic stress test), but it's good to keep an eye on trends.
I wonder how it estimates VO2Max and how often depending on the model. On my Series 3, it seems to make a data point two or three times a month and it’s concerning to me because it seems like it isn’t trending up even though I have started to do more cardio exercises. Instead, it has consistently reported a range that it says is below average. Could it be that it’s just pretty difficult to improve VO2Max in general?…
I have a mii band fit; it only calculates vo² max when you run for longer than 10 minutes reach a heart rate over 150
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
That sounds like the sort of stuff that is completely correct. Low fitness is significantly more risky than smoking. (I am not suggesting that anyone start or continue smoking.) https://peterattiamd.com/all-things-vo2-max/
It's pretty funny seeing people today seethe about the obvious (being unfit is terrible for you) the same way people in the 1970s were seething about the obvious (smoking is bad for you). There is a reason why life expectancy was dropping in the US years before covid hit.
What obvious-to-others things are you surprised by?
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#116Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
It can take months to go from obese to not obese through calorie restriction
Of course. I was responding to the time spent (out of ones day), opposed to calendar days of not eating. That said, people can make pretty rapid weight loss without eating. skip eating 1 day a week and that is 30 lbs a year for an average obese man. skip 2 days/week and that is 60 lbs/year.
Those numbers are assuming someone who skips a day of eating doesn’t increase their calorie consumption on other days to compensate
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#118I was blown away at just how little exercise is required to significantly increase your lifespan: 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week. That's it. The Copenhagen City Heart Study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2018 found that light jogging for 20 minutes a day, 3x a week reduces all-cause mortality by 78%. That's insane.
Assuming 80 year lifespan -10 years of childhood this comes out to approximately 1 year spent on exercise. That does not include preparation and recovery times.
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#119Are there cheap fitness bands or smart watches that can somewhat accurately track VO2 max?
You don’t need a watch. You can estimate VO2 max yourself by doing a max effort 1.5 mile run and applying a regression equation: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4795745/
That’s all the watches are doing anyway. Even if you do buy a watch, keep in mind you need to run regular max effort runs to get an accurate value.
Re: Cardio fitness is a strong, consistent predictor of morbidity and mortality
#120What’s the best way to accurately measure one’s VO2 max, or at least ballpark it sufficiently so that you can track improvement over time without it being lost in measurement noise?
If you have a power meter (e.g. assault bike) just measure with what power you can do the Norwegian 4x4 protocol.