A high fat diet is likely to be characterized by low fruit intake. In runners that didn't run very far, body weight was inversely related to servings of fruit. Among six-foot runners who ran less than 15 miles per week, those who ate 4 servings of fruit per day were expected to weigh 6.4 pounds less than those who ate no fruit. Among runners who ran more than 45 miles per week, the amount of fruit they ate had no relationship to their body weight. These cross-sectional associations cannot prove that red meat or fruit cause weight gain or loss. We suspect the meat and fruit may not be the responsible agents, but rather diets high in red meat and low in fruits are characteristic of high-fat diets and those low in red meat and high in fruit characteristic of low-fat diets. These observations suggest an additional benefit of vigorous exercise, one that mitigates the fattening effects of a western diet. (Permission granted to anyone wishing to use the images provided here when properly cited. Williams PT. Interactive effects of exercise, alcohol, and vegetarian diet on coronary artery disease risk factors in 9242 runners: the National Runners' Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Nov; 66(5):1197-206.)