It’s not a surprise but it is, now, documented: workers who are fit are more productive and take less sick leave.

According to a study that appeared in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal recently, people with a lower aerobic capacity were more likely to need sick leave and had a lower work ability than than those with who were in better aerobic condition.

The researchers from the Netherlands assessed 580 workers in their efforts to examine the relationship between work ability, aerobic capacity, sick leave and age.

In a finding that might be a surprise to some, age did not influence the relationship between aerobic capacity and sick leave.

The researchers found that fit workers had better work ability, and both fit workers and workers with higher work ability were at lower risk of starting an episode of sick leave.