Is There a Link Between Obesity, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, and Mortality?
In obese individuals, low cardiorespiratory fitness proved to be a strong predictor of mortality, with risks comparable to or greater than those for high cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension and smoking. This was the finding after analysis of data from an observational study of 25,714 men followed up for ten years. Source: Wei, et al., JAMA, 282: 1547-53, 1999.