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Results of a large, 5-year study of older men show
that exercise need not be time-consuming to provide benefit to cardiovascular
health. Researchers found that breaking up exercise into short bursts
of activity throughout the day strengthened the heart just as well as
one long workout.
Collecting data on more than 7,300 men who reported
their regular exercise habits, their heart disease risk was found to
depend not on how long they exercised each day, but on how many overall
calories they burned.
Men who burned 4,400 calories per week through exercise
were nearly 40% less likely to develop heart disease than were men who
used up only 1,100 calories per week. This effect held, regardless of
whether the men walked, climbed stairs, or played sports.
Dr. Howard D. Sesso and his colleagues at the Harvard
School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, announced that it is
"promising news" for sedentary people who want to take up exercise.
In a separate study, the same researchers found that
intense exercise such as running or swimming laps cut heart disease risk
to a greater extent than moderate activity did.
Among more than 12,500 middle-aged and older men,
regular vigorous exercise reduced heart disease risk by up to 20%, while
regularly walking was linked to only a 10% decline.
Circulation August 29, 2000;102
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