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Even low levels of weekly exercise drive down blood pressure
August 14, 2007Randomized controlled trial of home-based walking programs at and below current recommended levels of exercise in sedentary adults
Even low levels of weekly exercise drive down blood pressure and boost overall fitness, suggests a small study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
To stave off ill health, adults are currently recommended to indulge in 30 minutes of moderately strenuous exercise on at least five days of the week.
But few people meet these recommendations, with lack of time cited as the most common reason for failing to do so.
The study authors invited 106 healthy but sedentary civil servants between the ages of 40 and 60 to take part in an exercise programme for 12 weeks.
Some 44 people were randomly assigned to 30 minutes of brisk walking on five days of the week.
A further 42 were given the same programme, but for three days of the week. And the remainder were not asked to change their current lifestyle.
Pedometers were used to help participants monitor their walking and every participant recorded how long they walked for.
Blood pressure, blood cholesterol, weight, hip and waist girth, and overall fitness (functional capacity) were all measured at the start and finish of the 12 week study.
Most people (89%) lasted the course.
There were no changes in any of the measures among the non-walkers. But systolic blood pressure and waist and hip girth fell significantly in both groups of walkers.
Overall fitness also increased in the walkers.
Falls of a few mm in blood pressure and shrinkage of a few centimetres in hip and waist circumference are enough to make a difference to an individual's risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease, say the authors
Furthermore, the findings show that moderate intensity physical exercise below the recommended weekly levels still makes a difference to health, they add.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
But few people meet these recommendations, with lack of time cited as the most common reason for failing to do so.
The study authors invited 106 healthy but sedentary civil servants between the ages of 40 and 60 to take part in an exercise programme for 12 weeks.
Some 44 people were randomly assigned to 30 minutes of brisk walking on five days of the week.
A further 42 were given the same programme, but for three days of the week. And the remainder were not asked to change their current lifestyle.
Pedometers were used to help participants monitor their walking and every participant recorded how long they walked for.
Blood pressure, blood cholesterol, weight, hip and waist girth, and overall fitness (functional capacity) were all measured at the start and finish of the 12 week study.
Most people (89%) lasted the course.
There were no changes in any of the measures among the non-walkers. But systolic blood pressure and waist and hip girth fell significantly in both groups of walkers.
Overall fitness also increased in the walkers.
Falls of a few mm in blood pressure and shrinkage of a few centimetres in hip and waist circumference are enough to make a difference to an individual's risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease, say the authors
Furthermore, the findings show that moderate intensity physical exercise below the recommended weekly levels still makes a difference to health, they add.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Exercise Current Events and Exercise News RSSNew tool for helping pediatric heart surgery
A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Stanford University has developed a way to simulate blood flow on the computer to optimize surgical designs.
Researchers begin to decipher metabolism of sexual assault drug
It's a naturally occurring brain chemical with an unwieldy name: 4-hydroxybutyrate (4-HB). Taken by mouth, it can be abused or used as a date-rape drug.
Drug for erectile dysfunction improves heart function in young heart-disease patients
Heart function significantly improved in children and young adults with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who have had the Fontan operation following treatment with sildenafil, a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Talking to ourselves: How consumers navigate choices and inner conflict
From simple decisions like "Should I eat this brownie?" to bigger questions such as "Should my next car be a hybrid?" consumers are involved in an inner dialogue that reflects thoughts and perspectives of their different selves, according to the authors of a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
The benefits of exercise
Physical exercise is one of the most effective methods of preventing disease. The current issue of Deutsches Arzteblatt International is devoted to this important topic.
Playing sport up to the end of pregnancy is healthy for the baby and the mother
Contrary to more conservative customs, exercising up to the end of pregnancy has no harmful effect on the weight or size of the foetus.
Texas Children's discharges first pediatric patient with implanted mechanical heart device
Texas Children's Hospital is the nation's first pediatric hospital to discharge a child while on an intracorporeal ventricular assist device (VAD), a feat previously accomplished only at adult institutions.
Expectant moms, babies subjects of new Singapore study to prevent obesity and diabetes in adults
Three Singapore biomedical institutions have launched a major, long-term study of pregnant mothers and their fetuses as well as infant children to determine just how profoundly environmental factors early in life influence the onset of diseases such as obesity and diabetes in later years.
DNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more
The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.
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