Poor Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is as Deadly as End-Stage Kidney Disease, Data Show
When people think of life-threatening medical conditions, end-stage kidney disease — requiring dialysis and a waiting list for an organ transplant — typically comes to mind as a grave prognosis.
But new comparative risk data presented by Dr. Peter Attia, a guru in longevity medicine, reveal that being profoundly unfit carries a similar level of danger.
Attia, speaking with neuroscientist and podcaster Dr. Andrew Huberman, laid out a series of hazard ratios for various conditions and behaviors, allowing a direct comparison:
Condition / Risk FactorIncrease in All-Cause Mortality RiskEnd-stage kidney disease (on dialysis)175% (hazard ratio 2.75)Low strength (vs. high strength)250% (hazard ratio 3.5)Low muscle mass (vs. high muscle mass)200% (hazard ratio 3.0)Bottom 25% VO2 max (v...