A recent research review supports the value of fitness, regardless of weight loss outcomes, for people who are overweight or have obesity. A study by researchers from University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and Steven N. Blair, PED, MS, professor emeritus at the Prevention Research Center, University of South Carolina in Columbia, found that increasing aerobic fitness levels among people with obesity appeared to demonstrate larger health improvements than either dieting or weight loss, regardless of underlying comorbidities.

The findings are available in Current Obesity Reports (2020; 10.1007/s13679-020-00403-z).

See also: More Long-Term Aerobic Fitness Benefits