Benefits Of Exercise On The Heart

We all know regular exercise is good for the body... now new research finds benefits of exercise on the heart could help prevent heart disease even when you're carrying more weight than ideal.

Fitness level may, in fact, be more important than the number on the scale. No one is saying that being careful about weight gain isn't still important to keeping your heart healthy, but so is keeping fit according to the study authors.

Doctors have said for years that being heavy and inactive has a profound impact on your heart disease risk. This latest study is looks at how changes in your fitness level, your weight, or both impacts the development of disease risk factors later on. The study authors allowed for fitness level and weight to be altered for each other - something not accounted for in many studies.

The research involved following 3,148 healthy adult subjects who were already enrolled in another study who were given three medical exams between the years 1979 to 2006.

The team searched for three heart health risk factors - hypertension, high cholesterol levels or metabolic syndrome (a group of symptoms that up your risk for diabetes as well as heart disease).

The fitness level of the study subjects was measured using a treadmill test; weight was assessed using BMI and skin fold testing.

When the study ended, 752 subjects had been diagnosed with hypertension, 426 met the criteria for metabolic syndrome and another 597 were suffering from high cholesterol.

Those who either maintained (or improved) their fitness level had a reduced risk of having any of the 3 risk factors. The participants who kept their fitness level the same had a 24% lower risk of hypertension, a 38% lower chance of metabolic syndrome, as well as a 25% less chance of having high cholesterol. Those who had improved their fitness levels saw the same gains, or more.

Subjects who had gained weight were more likely to have one of the risk factors compared to those subjects who lost fat. Adding fat put the participants at a 24% higher risk of hypertension, 52% higher chance of metabolic syndrome as well as a 41% higher chance of high cholesterol.

For those who managed to maintain or improve their fitness, they were able to modify, but not eliminate, the higher risk of the extra fat. Dropping fat appeared to offset some of the increased risk of not being as fit as you once were.

The best scenario is to lose the weight and become more fit. This brings the lowest risk for all three potential troublemakers. Experts agree that if you're overweight you'd best be fit. If you can't pay attention to both healthy lifestyle choices - at least pick one.

And remember, making physical activity fun (rather than a dreaded chore) goes a long way toward having you doing it more often, and seeing the many benefits of exercise on the heart.

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