The Benefits of Being Fit
A study just published offers a great reason to get up and get moving - one of the benefits of being fit is that it really does help you live longer.
This conclusion comes from a careful and thorough meta analysis by a team of Japanese researchers using data from 33 earlier studies involving a total of 102,980 control subjects and 84,323 subjects diagnosed with either heart or cardiovascular diseases.
Subjects were assigned to a high, medium or low fitness group.
Those at the lowest levels of cardiorespiratory fitness had a 70% higher risk for death from all causes - 56% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease - than those at the highest levels.
Those with low cardiorespiratory fitness had a 40% higher risk for death coming from all causes, a 47% increased risk of death from heart diseases, than the medium fitness level group.
The technical term the research used to describe and break down fitness levels of the subjects is cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).
If you're able to walk continuously at 4 miles per hour (for a 50 year old man) or 3 m.
p.
h.
(for a woman), this work has found that you also have a lower risk of dying from all causes of death, particularly heart and cardiovascular disease.
Estimates from the American Heart Association put the number of people in the U.
S.
who have some form of cardiovascular disease at 80 million.
If you work out a bit harder there's encouraging news too.
The researchers found that a 0.
6 mile/hour higher running or jogging speed cuts the risk of mortality from all causes by 13%, offering a 15% decrease in risk of death from heart and cardiovascular disease.
The findings of the work make perfect sense if you think about it.
The heart is a muscle, and like all our muscles, it needs to be exercised regularly to stay strong and healthy.
The good news is that you don't have to run marathons or lift impossibly heavy objects to get the benefit.
The activity you choose can be anything that leaves you warm and slightly out of breath like gardening, dancing, housework, a brisk 30-minute walk after dinner or a session on the treadmill can all be solid, heart healthy activities.
Even if you can't find a dedicated time to workout, try little bursts of activity through the day - these add up.
You can take the stairs instead of an escalator or elevator.
Park further from the entrance or get off your bus a stop early.
Remember, even if you haven't been all that active up to this point in your life it's never too late to start.
As this research shows.
The negative effects of an inactive lifestyle can be reversed.
An exercise tolerance test (like a stress test) is a way for your doctor to assess your own personal level of fitness.
If you're concerned, or haven't been active in a while, talk to your doctor before you start a new program of exercise.
You'll be amazed how quickly you start to feel the benefits of being fit - feeling better and stronger than ever before.
This conclusion comes from a careful and thorough meta analysis by a team of Japanese researchers using data from 33 earlier studies involving a total of 102,980 control subjects and 84,323 subjects diagnosed with either heart or cardiovascular diseases.
Subjects were assigned to a high, medium or low fitness group.
Those at the lowest levels of cardiorespiratory fitness had a 70% higher risk for death from all causes - 56% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease - than those at the highest levels.
Those with low cardiorespiratory fitness had a 40% higher risk for death coming from all causes, a 47% increased risk of death from heart diseases, than the medium fitness level group.
The technical term the research used to describe and break down fitness levels of the subjects is cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF).
If you're able to walk continuously at 4 miles per hour (for a 50 year old man) or 3 m.
p.
h.
(for a woman), this work has found that you also have a lower risk of dying from all causes of death, particularly heart and cardiovascular disease.
Estimates from the American Heart Association put the number of people in the U.
S.
who have some form of cardiovascular disease at 80 million.
If you work out a bit harder there's encouraging news too.
The researchers found that a 0.
6 mile/hour higher running or jogging speed cuts the risk of mortality from all causes by 13%, offering a 15% decrease in risk of death from heart and cardiovascular disease.
The findings of the work make perfect sense if you think about it.
The heart is a muscle, and like all our muscles, it needs to be exercised regularly to stay strong and healthy.
The good news is that you don't have to run marathons or lift impossibly heavy objects to get the benefit.
The activity you choose can be anything that leaves you warm and slightly out of breath like gardening, dancing, housework, a brisk 30-minute walk after dinner or a session on the treadmill can all be solid, heart healthy activities.
Even if you can't find a dedicated time to workout, try little bursts of activity through the day - these add up.
You can take the stairs instead of an escalator or elevator.
Park further from the entrance or get off your bus a stop early.
Remember, even if you haven't been all that active up to this point in your life it's never too late to start.
As this research shows.
The negative effects of an inactive lifestyle can be reversed.
An exercise tolerance test (like a stress test) is a way for your doctor to assess your own personal level of fitness.
If you're concerned, or haven't been active in a while, talk to your doctor before you start a new program of exercise.
You'll be amazed how quickly you start to feel the benefits of being fit - feeling better and stronger than ever before.
