Walking Less Then 20 Minutes
A Day! Reduces Risk of Heart Disease 61%
Moderation is the key to sustaining exercise.
Two studies show that exercise for less than 20
minutes a day and in moderation can reduce the
risk of heart disease by 61%
The first study shows that physical activity
during leisure time, but not at work, is linked
to a reduced risk of heart problems.
We already know that exercise is beneficial for
the heart. What has been less clear is what kind
of physical activity is best.
Researchers in Ulm, Germany, have been investigating
whether the context of physical activity matters.
They studied a group of 312 people aged between
40 and 68 with heart disease, to determine levels
of physical activity during leisure time and in
the workplace. They were compared to a group of
479 healthy people. This revealed that leisure
activity, but not workplace activity, can reduce
your risk of heart disease.
Those spending less than an hour a week of physical
activity during their free time were 15 per cent
less likely to develop heart problems compared
to those who took no activity. Those spending
between one and two hours in physical activity
had a 40 per cent reduced risk and those who spent
more than two hours had a 61 per cent reduced
risk.
The study is interesting in highlighting the
importance of the leisure context for physical
activity. It suggests that people should do more
than just rest during their time off - they should
get moving too! Archives of Internal Medicine
26th May 2003
In a second study they found that participants
in an exercise study were more likely to keep
up moderate, rather than intense, physical activity
in the long term.
While intense exercise gives the most health
benefit, it is important to be realistic and focus
on what people can, and will, do. Researchers
at Duke University have studied what happens when
people are taken through supervised exercise of
differing intensity. A group of 87 'couch potatoes'
was assigned to either high, moderate, or low
intensity exercise for nine months. The high intensity
activity involved the equivalent of 18 miles a
week of brisk walking or jogging, moderate was
11 miles of the same, while low intensity was
just 11 miles of walking.
When they finished the program, a high proportion
of the group kept up their exercise. But those
in the high intensity group cut back on time spent,
while those in the low intensity group increased
the intensity of their exercise. This suggests
that people do tend to gravitate to a moderate
level of activity. Those who abandoned their exercise
gave lack of time as the main reason. Walking
was the preferred activity, although some used
elliptical trainers and other machines, or went
swimming. American College of Sports Medicine
Meeting 29th May 2003
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