Is it better to be thin or fit? One study contends it is better exercise and be overweight than to be thin and not exercise at all.

Previous studies linking obesity and death from heart disease and other major killers have missed the important influence of exercise, said Steven Blair, director of research at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas.

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"There is a misdirected obsession with weight and weight loss,'' he told a meeting of the Association for the Study of Obesity in London. "The focus is all wrong. It's fitness that is the key.''

Although the study examined thousands of men and produced what even its critics say is solid data, those same critics contend, however, that it's still better to be fit and trim. That's because obesity leads to other problems like diabetes and arthritis.

"When you look at the data and the number of subjects he's studied and you recognise that Steve is an excellent scientist, I think nobody would say the data are flawed,'' said Dr. Susan Jebb, director of the Human Nutrition Unit at Cambridge University in England.

"I think that's good news for people who are overweight because it kind of gives them two options. You don't have to lose weight. You can instead improve your fitness,'' she said. "However, the reality is that both of those are quite tough challenges. The question is just how many people do manage the level of fitness that he is showing is beneficial?''

Blair says that 30 minutes of moderate walking every day, at three or four mph, would make most obese people fit.

"To put yourself in our top fitness category, you might walk more vigorously and add a couple of games of tennis at the weekends,'' he said.

Some other fitness experts recommend 60 minutes a day of exercise for health.

"I don't mean it eliminates the risk of everything, but you can stay overweight and obese if you are fit and be just as healthy, in terms of mortality risk, as a lean fit person,'' Blair said. "When they talk about the health risks of obesity, they usually talk about heart disease, diabetes - the big killers.''

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