People that are fit tend to take care of themselves in more ways, like for example, eating healthier food consistently. So I doubt it can all be simplified to exercise like the article claims.
Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
21–30 of 233 posts
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#22My work provides a gym, and I go there for at least an hour every weekday. I'd rather do poorly at work then skip exercising to be honest. I see some of the older employees coming in trying to reverse the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and I do not envy that position. It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. Of course, diet is also…
"It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible."
Living as well and as beneficently as possible might be higher priorities. The older folks with the desk jobs are often quite literally sacrificing their own well-being for their family's, "deprioritizing their health" for another priority.
"You could not do more with your money than get professional help in steering your body"
You could donate to help poor people survive, to help sick people get well, to heal the natural environment, to educate children, to encourage peace and justice, to strengthen your community, or to advance knowledge.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#23My work provides a gym, and I go there for at least an hour every weekday. I'd rather do poorly at work then skip exercising to be honest. I see some of the older employees coming in trying to reverse the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and I do not envy that position. It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. Of course, diet is also…
> It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. > Also, if you're struggling with getting fit, GET A PERSONAL TRAINER AND NUTRITIONIST. There are tonnes of people out there who are just scraping by, who have to work two exhausting jobs, who have to spend all of their free time looking after kids, etc., who can't afford the gym, let alone a personal trainer and nutritionist. If you have the time and money to do…
This doesn't describe the fast majority of out of shape people. Poverty has always been an issue, but obesity and poor health from a sedentary lifestyle is a very new issue.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#24My work provides a gym, and I go there for at least an hour every weekday. I'd rather do poorly at work then skip exercising to be honest. I see some of the older employees coming in trying to reverse the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and I do not envy that position. It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. Of course, diet is also…
> “It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible.”
Why? I personally don’t want to live as long as possible, definitely not if I develop some kind of neurodegerative disorder. I’d honestly be happy with 65. I don’t see too many people over the age 65 who I envy.
Diet and exercise are big contributors to preventing heart disease, but when it comes to things like the vast array of cancers it’s mostly luck or the draw. You can do everything right and still die at 40.
I wonder if there are any large scale, long term regressions that attempt to get at exactly how much diet and exercise contribute to extending life. I get the feeling that outside of heart disease it doesn’t contribute as much as one might hope it would.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#25I took a new job in January that is mostly desk-bound and promptly gained 10+ pounds (5kg). I'm at my heaviest ever: 170# (77kg). So last weekend I went hiking with some friends on a trip I instigated a couple months earlier, with no preparation. Its my favorite hobby, but my pack was too heavy, body too flabby. In the swamps of South Florida (Myakka for the locals), it was flooded and brutal and I about died. If I want to enjoy life, planning out body care is just one of the requirements. I've also noticed I'm tired more, sicker since this job started. I know why, same old story: Diet & Exercise.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#26The article's title is somewhat misleading. The study emphasises the level of fitness rather than the regularity of exercise. [0] > Question: What is the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and long-term mortality? > Findings: In this cohort study of 122 007 consecutive patients undergoing exercise treadmill testing, cardiorespiratory fitness was inversely associated with all-cause mortality without an obse…
That's a little pedantic, even for HN, don't you think? "Oh, it's not the exercise that's important, it's the stuff that happens BECAUSE you exercise."
It's not pedantic, it's a real point. It's not clear at all that the relationship between exercise and fitness is as simple as you claim.
Clearly, if a given person exercises more, they will be more fit. But there are also many other factors, including genetics, influencing fitness.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#27My work provides a gym, and I go there for at least an hour every weekday. I'd rather do poorly at work then skip exercising to be honest. I see some of the older employees coming in trying to reverse the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and I do not envy that position. It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. Of course, diet is also…
>It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. I think your number one priority should be to avoid suffering.
Then one could just die and be done with everything.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#28My work provides a gym, and I go there for at least an hour every weekday. I'd rather do poorly at work then skip exercising to be honest. I see some of the older employees coming in trying to reverse the effects of a sedentary lifestyle and I do not envy that position. It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. It should always be a person's #1 priority to live as long as possible. Of course, diet is also…
> It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. > Also, if you're struggling with getting fit, GET A PERSONAL TRAINER AND NUTRITIONIST. There are tonnes of people out there who are just scraping by, who have to work two exhausting jobs, who have to spend all of their free time looking after kids, etc., who can't afford the gym, let alone a personal trainer and nutritionist. If you have the time and money to do…
I'll warn that that advice is like "get a therapist". They're weakly regulated/certified titles, and there are many people calling themselves as such offering terrible advice and plans.
I don't think they're worthless by any means, good ones are great. However, you need to carefully vet them rather than trusting their advice by default to the degree you might (or should be able) to trust a doctor or the like.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#29This quote sets off alarm bells for sensationalism:
"People who do not perform very well on a treadmill test," Jaber said, "have almost double the risk of people with kidney failure on dialysis."
The quote doesn't appear to be part of the paper either. The first Google hit for all-cause kidney disease mortality says:
"The absolute risk for death increased exponentially with decreasing renal function in these studies. The magnitude of the unadjusted increase in risk ranged from approximately 38% to >1100%"
Those numbers are for non-dialysis patients. You'd expect the dialysis patients to be much worse due to the first sentence. The exercise paper says:
"The increase in all-cause mortality associated with reduced CRF (low vs elite: adjusted HR, 5.04; 95% CI, 4.10-6.20; P I don't think low vs elite is a fair interpretation of "not doing very well", so I'd take 41% as the increase in risk. That is very much not double 38-1100%. You'd assume it's certainly not double the exponentially worse-off dialysis patients. You wouldn't think 504% was either, even if you are charitable to the quote.
The findings seem interestingly strong. Overplaying them further should not be necessary.
Re: Not exercising worse than smoking, diabetes and heart disease study finds
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's crazy how people will deprioritze their health. > Also, if you're struggling with getting fit, GET A PERSONAL TRAINER AND NUTRITIONIST. There are tonnes of people out there who are just scraping by, who have to work two exhausting jobs, who have to spend all of their free time looking after kids, etc., who can't afford the gym, let alone a personal trainer and nutritionist. If you have the time and money to do…
I'll warn that that advice is like "get a therapist". They're weakly regulated/certified titles, and there are many people calling themselves as such offering terrible advice and plans. I don't think they're worthless by any means, good ones are great. However, you need to carefully vet them rather than trusting their advice by default to the degree you might (or should be able) to trust a doctor or the like.
The primary function of a personal trainer / nutritionist is not the advice they give, but that they force you to show up at the gym and keep track of what you're eating. It's 90% outsourcing of willpower and 10% knowledge.