Physical activity levels low among ‘healthy’ smokers

By C.E. Huggins NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Smokers without signs of lung disease may be raising their chances of developing lung problems and other health issues by being couch potatoes, Brazilian researchers say. They compared so-called healthy smokers to nonsmokers by physical activity levels and quality of life, and found the smokers to be less fit, less active, more anxious and depressed and more likely to have heart disease. “The take-home point is smokers are markedly inactive in their daily lives even while they are still considered ‘healthy,’ or before they develop any disease as a consequence of smoking,” study author Dr. Fabio Pitta, of State University of Londrina in Brazil told Reuters Health. “This indicates that, together with fighting tobacco use, fighting physical inactivity in smokers is also a priority in order to avoid the deleterious combination of smoking and physical inactivity,” he said.