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While government recommendations say that 30 minutes of moderate
daily activity, such as brisk walking, will ward of heart
disease, a study found that only vigorous exercise lowers
the risk of early death from heart disease.
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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