More research is showing that even small amounts of aerobic exercise help lower coronary heart disease risk. The newest review was published in the journal Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, and should encourage even the most sedentary of us to being moving physically.
USA Today reports, “This mega-study is part of a growing body of research showing that some physical activity provides health benefits.”
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports that investigators analyzed data from 33 different studies. “The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommend a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise for health benefits, were used as a measure.”
The researchers found that individuals “who met those basic guidelines had a 14% lower risk of heart disease compared with people who did no leisure time physical activity.”
However, and this is the KEY finding, “people who did less than the recommended 150 minutes per week also had lowered risk of heart disease compared with their sedentary counterparts.”
HealthDay reported that “those who did more – about 300 minutes a week, or five hours – reduced their risk of heart disease, including heart attacks, angina and bypass surgeries, by 20 percent compared to people who did no exercise, the study found.”
WebMD reported that the “researchers noticed a significant gender difference in results, which showed that exercise had a greater effect in reducing heart disease risk in women than in men.”
The bottom line? Some exercise is good … and much better than none … although more exercise is even better … especially for women.