by Jeffrey Bramnick

To help reach a healthy weight level, combine daily exercise with a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean meats, chicken and fish.

What if the experts said you could eat more, exercise less — and actually live longer? You might be tempted to skip your workout and make an extra trip through the buffet line.

That’s what some people did after a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association in April 2005. The study said being a bit overweight was healthier than being at an optimum weight — that the risk for death was less for someone carrying a few extra pounds.

The National Cancer Institute and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did the study. Researchers used the body mass index (BMI) to decide who was at a normal weight and who was overweight. But they didn’t take into account chronic illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, says nationally known health and lifestyle expert James M. Rippe, M.D., whose many books include Fit Over Forty and The Healthy Heart for Dummies. Someone might have a healthy BMI but still suffer from chronic diseases that can affect longevity. So BMI alone isn’t a good gauge of health.

The study caused such a stir that the CDC held a press conference to explain that it is not OK to be overweight. Other experts chimed in to second that notion.

“Study after study shows clearly that even a little bit of extra weight can have a very significant negative impact on health,” says Dr. Rippe, an associate professor of medicine at Tufts University. “People with a BMI of 27 are not as healthy as those with a BMI of 25. And people with a BMI of 30 or more are very substantially at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes — for mortality.” Lose 10 pounds, he says, and you’re likely to cut your blood pressure, lower your diabetes risk and save aging joints from added stress.

We’re flooded with information about weight, diet and fitness. Dr. Rippe says our reaction reminds him of a line from a Simon and Garfunkel song: “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”

Though most of us know that being lean and fit is good, some ask which matters more — becoming more fit or losing weight?

“The truth is that both are important and that they feed off one another,” Dr. Rippe says. “If you eat well and you exercise well, you’ll be both lean and fit.”

The CDC, National Institutes of Health, and American College of Sports Medicine “agree that you should get 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise,” says Tim Church, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of The Cooper Institute in Dallas. “You need 30 minutes a session, five times a week.”

“People say, ‘I walk a lot on my job, so I don’t have to exercise,’” adds Dr. Rippe, “but they’re not getting the exercise they say they’re getting. They underreport what they eat and they overreport their exercise.”

You should eat a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean meats, chicken and fish. Add that to exercise and chances are great that your weight and fitness level will be healthy.

“If you’re overweight or obese, fat will come off first in the areas in which you’re carrying it the most,” says Dr. Rippe. “So, if you have a big belly, fat will come from there — and reducing abdominal fat is protective against heart disease and diabetes.”

Do You Weigh Too Much?
Most doctors use the body mass index (BMI) to work out a healthy weight range for patients. The BMI is based on your height and weight. It does not reflect your body’s percentage of fat, or of fatfree muscle.

You can learn your BMI using a Web tool (try http://nhlbisupport.com/bmi) or by grabbing a calculator:

1. Multiply your weight in pounds by 703.
2. Multiply your height in inches by your height in inches.
3. Divide the answer from step 1 by the answer from step 2. That’s your BMI.

A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9. You weigh too little if your BMI is less than 18.5. If your BMI is 25 to 29.9, you’re overweight. If it’s 30 or greater, you’re obese.

Some doctors also look at your waist measurement. People with a higher BMI whose waists measure less than 35 inches (for women) and less than 40 inches (for men) are at less risk for chronic diseases than those with higher BMI numbers and larger waist measurements.

“This takes into account that someone might have a little bigger frame or weigh more because of muscle mass from weight training,” says The Cooper Institute’s Tim Church, M.D.

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