Can you be overweight and physically fit? Can you be thin and out of shape? Steven Blair will answer those questions in his upcoming lecture “Physical Activity or Body Weight: Which is More Important for Your Health?”

Blair is a professor in the departments of exercise science and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, and is the 2010–2011 Dean Helen LeBaron Hilton Chairman in the College of Human Sciences.

“Dr. Blair is probably among the most well-known and influential physical activity researchers in the world,” said Gregory Welk, associate professor of kinesiology. “He was the lead author of the ‘Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health’ and among the most published and recognized scholars on the health benefits of physical activity.”

Blair is also the coauthor of “Fitness After 50, Active Living Every Day and Physical Activity and Health.”

“We have published numerous papers on this topic,” Blair said.

Blair’s research paper “Should health policy focus on physical activity rather than obesity?” published in “Head to Head,” a health section featured in British Medical Journal. This research found that physical inactivity is an important cause of numerous diseases, from heart attacks to dementia.

“Dr. Blair will be presenting on research that examines the issue of whether you can be both [overweight] and fit,” Welk said. “He has compelling evidence that fitness is far more important than fatness as far as health goes. In other words, if you are physically active and fit, it provides protection against the health risks of overweight and obesity.”

As 2010–2011 Hilton Chairman, Blair will visit Iowa State four times throughout the school year. His visits will focus on expanding student knowledge of the benefits of physical activity. The Nov. 11 lecture will be his first visit as chairman.