Higher fitness level is associated with lower inflammation, experts discover

Fitness, inflammation and waist circumference are intricately connected, according to a study in PLOS ONE.

The team looked at data from 10,976 people who took a fitness test. Waist circumference, weight and height were measured, and blood samples taken to measure C-reactive protein, a marker of low-grade inflammation.

Higher levels of fitness were associated with a smaller waist circumference and a lower degree of inflammation, independently of body mass index.

“We found that fitness is inversely associated with both abdominal [fat] and low-grade inflammation independent of body mass index,” says Anne-Sophie Wedell-Neergaard, who led the work. “These results suggest that, regardless of body mass index, high fitness levels lead to a reduction in abdominal fat mass and low-grade inflammation.”

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