Vigorous Exercise Vs. Walking to Prevent Heart Attacks
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.
Heart May 2003;89:502-506
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