Dr. Karen Zoufal | 04/19/2021
Experts recommend being physically active for at least two and a half hours a week – with moderate intensity. According to a new study, however, this is not enough to keep your heart and circulation healthy over the long term. Scientists in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine write about twice as much workload for this up to the age of 60.
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The study shows that increasing physical activity to around five hours a week, especially between the ages of 30 and their late 50s, can lower the risk of high blood pressure – a condition that causes heart attacks, strokes and dementia. The researchers evaluated data from around 5,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 30 over a period of 30 years. They found that physical activity decreases from the age of 20 and stabilizes at a lower level over time. The occurrence of high blood pressure clearly reflected this decreased physical activity.
Eighteen percent of the participants had trained at least five hours a week in early adulthood – twice as much as the recommended minimum. They were 18 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who did less exercise. Almost twelve percent had retained these training habits up to the age of 60, and high blood pressure was significantly less common with them.
Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of San Francisco said, “Results from randomized controlled trials and observational studies have shown that exercise lowers blood pressure. Teens and adults in their early twenties may be physically active, but these patterns change with age. Our study suggests that maintaining physical activity at a higher level than previously recommended is particularly important. “
What: DOI 10.1016 / j.amepre.2020.12.018
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