posted 12/11/02
Moderate Intensity is
recommended
The CDC (Center for
Disease Control) recommends moderate-intensity physical activity of at least 30
minutes on most, preferably all, days of the week. Is walking as beneficial as
more vigorous exercise? The Women's Health Initiative Observational Study
provided an opportunity to compare walking with vigorous exercise for preventing
heart disease in a diverse cohort of 73,743 postmenopausal women (age range,
50-79) without histories of heart disease or cancer. Participants completed
detailed physical-activity questionnaires and were followed for up to 5.9 years
(mean, 3.2). Weekly energy expenditure was calculated in metabolic equivalents (METs).
The number of
MET-hours per week was inversely associated with heart-disease risk. Walking and
vigorous exercise yielded similar benefits: For example, at least 2.5 hours/week
of either activity reduced risk by about 30%. Faster walking pace was associated
with lower risk, prolonged daily sitting with higher risk. Findings were
consistent among white and black women and across age and body-mass index
categories.
This large, prospective study of postmenopausal women demonstrates the equal value of walking and vigorous exercise for reducing cardiovascular risk. Because faster walking was associated with lower risk, the findings support current CDC guidelines, which recommend moderate-intensity activity. The study is remarkable for its size and inclusion of previously understudied racial, ethnic, and age groups. Manson JE et al. Walking compared with vigorous exercise for the prevention of cardiovascular events in women.
Source: Diabetes In Control Dot Com:
New England Journal of Medicine 2002 Sep 5; 347:716-25.
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