Exercise for a Healthy Heart

Do you exercise every day? If you want to live a long, healthy life, maybe you should.

A recent study by Timothy Wessel, a physician at the University of Florida, indicates one of the strongest risk factors for developing heart disease is inactivity – even more so than being overweight. During the four-year study of 906 women, Dr. Wessel documented those who were moderately active were less likely to develop heart disease than sedentary women, no matter how much they weighed. The study concluded: “These results suggest that fitness may be more important than overweight or obesity for cardiovascular risk in women.”

In January, the updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines strongly urged that everyone should take part in “at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity” on most days, above whatever activities they do at home or work. To loose weight or to avoid gaining weight as we age, 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended. And those who have already lost weight and are attempting to keep weight off need 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise.

A study of 9,611 adults by the University of Michigan health System, found that people in their 50s and 60s who participated in daily exercise were 35 percent less likely to die within the next eight years than their inactive couch potato counter parts.

Convinced that it’s time to add exercise to your day?