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New study findings should give "couch
potatoes" one more reason to get moving -- being in good
physical shape appears to reduce
middle-aged men's risk of dying not only from cardiovascular
disease, but from cancer and other causes as well.
In fact, Finnish
researchers report that poor cardio-respiratory fitness increases
the risk of premature death as much as well-known risk factors
such as smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
Physically unfit men, who had the lowest
oxygen uptake, were almost three
times more likely to
die from any cause, even after the researchers
accounted for factors that could have influenced the results,
such as age, smoking and alcohol use. The risk of death was
similar in men who could only complete a short exercise test.
Even though being physically fit is usually
thought to help the heart most of all, the benefits
of staying in shape appeared to be wide-ranging.
Men with high oxygen uptake and long exercise tests were less
likely to die not only from cardiovascular disease, but from
all causes, including cancer, according to the study.
While the effects of exercise on cardiovascular
health are well known, the link between good physical fitness
and a reduced risk of death from other causes is not well
understood, the report indicates.
Archives of
Internal Medicine 2001;161:825-831
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