Clear benefit of exercise on cardiovascular health
Wednesday January 13th 2021
The positive impact of exercise on cardiovascular health appears to have 'no upper limit', according to new findings from the University of Oxford, UK.
Dr Aiden Doherty and colleagues carried out a study using information on 90,211 participants in the UK Biobank database.
The participants wore wrist-worn devices called accelerometers, which accurately recorded their activity levels, over a seven-day period during 2013 to 2015.
Analysis showed that physical activity is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and that the greatest benefit is seen at the highest level of activity. The researchers report "no threshold where the effects of exercise stopped improving cardiovascular health".
Specifically, the protective effect of physical activity was 54% to 63% for those in the top quarter of the 'vigorous-intensity activity' group.
Findings appeared yesterday (12 January) in PLoS Medicine. Dr Doherty believes the findings have important implications for clinical practice and guidelines on optimum physical activity.
He said: "This is the largest ever study of device-measured physical activity and cardiovascular disease. It shows that physical activity is probably even more important for the prevention of cardiovascular disease than we previously thought."
Our findings lend further weight to the new World Health Organisation guidelines on physical activity which recommend at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week for all adults."
Co-author Professor Terry Dwyer added: "The results of this study enhance confidence that physical activity is likely to be an important way of preventing cardiovascular disease.
"The potential risk reduction estimated in those engaging in relatively high levels of activity is substantial and justifies a greater emphasis on measures to increase levels of physical activity in the community."
Doherty, A. et al. PLoS Medicine 12 January 2020
Tags: Fitness | Heart Health | UK News
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