Being physically unfit is as bad or worse than smoking says the NY Times It is no secret that many of us not only carry more weight than we should, but also, our physical fitness is often lacking due to todays lifestyles. A recent study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology studied how physical fitness affected lifespan. The study found that smoking had the greatest effect on lifespan, but second to this was our VO2 max, an important determinant of physical fitness. The NY Times recently reported about this studies findings. Check it out here Being Unfit May Be Almost as Bad for You as Smoking By Gretchen Reynolds July 27, 2016 Being out of shape could be more harmful to health and longevity than most people expect, according to a new, long-term study of middle-aged men. The study finds that poor physical fitness may be second only to smoking as a risk factor for premature death. It is not news that aerobic capacity can influence lifespan. Many past epidemiological studies have found that people with low physical fitness tend to be at high risk of premature death. Conversely, people with robust aerobic capacity are likely to have long lives. Read more