(HealthDay News) -- In the quest for a longer Life, a new study suggests fit is where it's at -- even if you're fat.

Overweight and obese seniors who were physically fit outlived their contemporaries -- even thin ones who weren't physically fit, the researchers said.

"Cardio-respiratory fitness is a strong determinate of mortality in older men and women," said lead researcher Steven N. Blair, a professor at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of PublicHealth.

"Older individuals need to be concerned about their fitness level," Blair added. "There is perhaps too much focus on body weight, and fitness is only an afterthought."

Adequate fitness can be achieved with 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day, such as brisk walking, regardless of your weight, Blair said.

The findings are published in the Dec. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

For the study, Blair's team looked at the relationship between body fat, fitness and longevity in 2,603 men and women aged 60 and older who took part in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. During 12 years of follow-up, 450 people died.

Among overweight people in the study, 23 percent were classified as unfit, as were 53 percent of obese people, Blair said. "You really can't tell if a person is fit by looking at them," he said.

People who were fit were more than 50 percent less likely to die than unfit people, regardless of weight -- meaning overweight but fit people tended to outlive leaner people who weren't in good shape. And fit folks were less likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, Blair said.

The people who died were older, had lower fitness levels, and had more cardiovascular risk factors.

To get fit and stay fit, Blair recommends 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five days a week. "You don't even have to do the 30 minutes all at once. Three 10-minute walks a day five days a week will get you out of this unfit category and get you at least moderately fit," he said.

One heart expert agreed that the new study highlights the importance of being physically fit.

"Numerous studies have provided evidence that physical fitness is associated with lower mortality risk," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. "Furthermore, while having increased body-mass index indicating obesity is associated with excess risk of mortality, this relationship is significantly attenuated in individuals who exercise and demonstrate good physical fitness.

"Being physically fit essentially neutralized the excess mortality risk associated with obesity whereas being unfit was independently associated with excess deaths regardless of body mass or other measures of adiposity [body fat]," Fonarow added.

（美国每日健康新闻）--一项新的研究表明保持身体健康能够让你活得更久--即便你有点胖。

研究人员声称，那些老年人虽然超重、肥胖，但是他们身体健康，就会比他们的同代人更长寿--即便他们的同代人很苗条，但是身体不够健康。

南卡罗来纳大学公共健康学院的教授，该研究的领导人Steven N. Blair说：“对于年迈的男性和女性，心肺健康是决定死亡率的关键因素。”

Blair补充到：“长者需要关心自己的健康水平，而现在对于体重可能太过关注了，健康倒是其次的了。”

Blair说道，每天锻炼30分钟，你就可以保持健康，例如竞走，不要总想着体重。

该发现刊登在12月5日发行的《美国医学会期刊》上。

对于此次研究，Blair的团队观察2603位参加健身中心纵向研究的身材不等的60岁男性和女性，历经12年的追踪，450人死亡。

该研究中体重超标的人中，23%的人归为不健康，而属于肥胖的则有53%，Blair说：“你真的不可以通过看一个人来辨别他是否健康。”

那些身体健康的人比那些身体不健康的人的死亡率少了近50%，和体重无关--这意味着超重但是健康的人们比那些身材苗条但状况不佳的人活得长。Blair说道，这些健康的人罹患心血管疾病的风险因素更低，例如高血压、高胆固醇和糖尿病。

那些死去的人，年纪大、健康状况不佳，罹患心血管疾病的风险因素较高。

为了能够变得健康并保持健康，Blair建议一周中至少有五天要做30分钟适当的锻炼。他说：“你不用一下子就做30分钟。每天分三次各走十分钟路，一周运动五天，那样你就可以脱离不健康，至少能够保持适当的健康。”

一位心脏方面的专家赞同该新研究突出身体健康的重要性。

洛杉矶加州大学心脏病学的教授Gregg C. Fonarow博士说：“许多研究证明身体健康能降低死亡率。此外，当身体肥胖指数上升时，死亡率也会剧增，而那些做锻炼且身体状况良好的人的死亡率则明显较低。”

Fonarow补充到：“身体健康从根本上减少了和肥胖相关的死亡风险，然而无关身材臃肿或其它肥胖倾向（身体肥胖），健康状况不佳则和死亡率上升有着不可脱卸的关系。”