The Stuff That Actually Matters
The wellness industry wants you to believe you have to optimise every iota of your life to be healthy, and it’s bullshit. In reality, if you do the following, you’re ticking almost all the boxes for being fit and healthy.
Body composition – i.e., muscle and body fat – has a strong correlation with the risk of all-cause mortality and overall health. Carrying excess body fat is linked with an increased mortality risk, while this risk decreases as fat-free mass increases. 1
When most people hear this, they assume they need to be super shredded. But you might be surprised to learn that the risk associated with body fat tapers off at levels much higher than most people would assume. Jayedi and colleagues found the lowest mortality risk was observed at a BF% of 22% for men and 35% for women. 2
If you want to get leaner because that’s something you want to do–great. But from a health perspective, leaner doesn’t necessarily mean better.
