Regular activity may help some people stay 'fat and fit'

Conclusion As people often say, if exercise was a medicine, it would be hailed as a miracle cure. This study suggests that what we already know about the benefits of exercise may extend to reducing risk of cardiovascular disease for middle aged and older people, even if they are overweight or obese. But the study has some limitations. This type of study can't prove that one factor – exercise – is responsible for the lower risk of heart attack and stroke among overweight or obese people who exercise more. It's possible that other factors are important – for example people's income may be linked to their opportunities for exercise. In addition, people are more likely to be physically active when they are in good health, so lower levels of physical activity might suggest people are already unhealthy, and therefore more at risk of heart attack or stroke. The amounts of exercise people reported are strikingly high. The study didn't measure activity through monitoring devices, so we can't be sure that people didn't overstate how much activity they were doing. The study included physical activity for transport as well as leisure, so one possibility is that people in Rotterdam get around on foot or bicycle a lot (a factor that may be more significant in the Netherlands than the UK). So the differences in activity levels from the usual levels reported in the UK mean that the results may not translate to a UK population. Latest figures show only 67% of men and 55% of women in ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Obesity Lifestyle/exercise Heart/lungs Source Type: news