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
This is a wonderful confirmation of an earlier report in this newsletter that was from Annual Meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity in 1999. It is good to see it published in a reputable journal. Exercise is one of the keys to weight loss however, and it will be very difficult for anyone to have long-term success in this area unless they are committed to exercise.
Related Articles:
Exercise Reduces Diabetes by Reducing Insulin Resistance Exercise Alone Can Help Weight Loss Obesity Experts Urge More Exercise
Exercise Reduces Diabetes by Reducing Insulin Resistance
Exercise Alone Can Help Weight Loss
Obesity Experts Urge More Exercise