Vigorous
Exercise Vs. Walking to Prevent Heart Attacks
posted 05/08/03
Only vigorous exercise
lowers the risk of early death from heart disease
While government recommendations say that 30 minutes of moderate daily activity,
such as brisk walking, will ward of heart disease, a study found.
The study involved 1,975 men, aged between 49 and 64 years at the start of the study, who had no evidence of heart diseases. The men filled out a questionnaire that estimated their daily calories burned through exercise.
Types of exercise were grouped as light, moderate or vigorous based on how many calories the activity burned over a given amount of time.
Vigorous exercise included activities such as jogging, hiking, climbing stairs, racket sports and swimming; moderate exercise included golfing, dancing and brisk walking; and mild exercise included walking, bowling and sailing.
After the 10-year study, only vigorous exercise was associated with a lowered risk of death from heart disease or any other cause. Further, the more intense the exercise, the lower the chances of dying during the study.
Men who exercised the most had a 40 percent lower risk of dying than those who exercised the least, according to researchers.
However, researchers point out that the study only questioned men about their exercise habits once during the study, so they do not know whether the men changed their habits changed over the 10-year study period.
Previous studies have
resulted in conflicting results. Many experts believe that moderate exercise is
enough while others say only vigorous exercise will result in benefits to the
heart.
Researchers suggest that there is not enough evidence to warrant changing
current exercise recommendations.
Source: Diabetes In
Control Dot Com: Heart, May 2003;89:502-506.
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