Fat vs Fit & Obama's Transition

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Here's hope and good news for those among us who are less than svelte. AARP reports:

• [A] study published in December 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) ... found that fitness—in this case the ability to walk quickly on a treadmill for a few minutes or longer—was a better predictor of who would die, and when, than BMI.
• The study followed 2,600 adults over age 60 for 12 years. Participants were asked to walk on a treadmill at a quick walking pace, with a gradually increasing incline. Based on the results of the treadmill test, they were then put in five fitness categories, from least to most fit.
• Researchers found that the least fit, regardless of BMI, were four times more likely to die during the course of the study than the most fit. But the most surprising difference in mortality was between the least fit group and the one just above that, who were half as likely to die during the study. In other words, just a little fitness could be twice as good as no fitness at all.

I am feeling better already. But, I guess, it is not an excuse to just lean back in our recliners. We should get up and do something. Still easier--and more engaging--than dieting.



If you haven't been to change.gov (the Obama-Biden transition website), you need to go. "Obama-Biden Transition Project Co-chair John D. Podesta announced that all policy documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be publicly available for review and discussion on Change.gov." Very refreshing. Honestly open government. Wow. What a concept.

By the way, just what did go on in that 2001 meeting between Cheney and the energy company execs?
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