Health Center - Heart Health
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Walking for Heart Health? Speed It Up, Study Suggests
Fast walking, jogging reduced disease warning signs, but daily stroll did not
MONDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Fast walking and jogging every day can cut your risk of heart disease and stroke by as much as 50 percent, but an hour's walk every day does not make a difference, according to a new Danish study.
The researchers said their findings suggest that exercise intensity rather than duration is what matters in protecting against metabolic syndrome, which refers to a combination of factors -- such as high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, abnormal blood fat levels and abdominal obesity -- that increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
The study was published Oct. 8 in the online journal BMJ Open.
Researchers Eva Prescott and colleagues at Bispebjerg University Hospital, in Copenhagen, looked at more than 10,000 Danish adults, aged 21 to 98, who were first assessed between 1991 and 1994 and then followed for up to 10 years. At the initial assessment, about 20 percent of women and 27 percent of men had metabolic syndrome.
