Brisk walking can reduce stroke risk in women

A large study published in Stroke found that women who walked two or more hours a week or walked briskly lowered the risk of stroke by more than a third.


The researchers followed nearly 40000 women aged over 44 for about 12 years to investigate the link between the levels of physical actitivity and the risk of having a stroke. The participants reported periodically on their physical activities via a questionnaire. 579 women had a stroke during the follow-up years.


The researchers said they have found a borderline significant link between the time spent on physical activities and stroke risk but they did not find a link between vigorous activity and reduced stroke risk. The lead author said the study was observational and physical activity was self-reported, further study is needed on more hemorrhagic strokes and with more ethnically diverse women.

Source: "Physical Activity and Risk of Stroke in Women". Stroke, published online April 2010 DOI

Regular exercises reduce cancer death risk in men

Newspapers reported on a prospective cohort study of more than 40,000 Swedish men that found those who exercised moderately for at least 60 minutes a day reduced their risk of cancer, also in men who have cancer, 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise improved their chances of survival by 33%.

The researchers said the findings ‘may have major public health implications in the prevention and treatment of malignancies’ but the results require confirmation.

Critics say the study did not take into account the effect of diet that can influence their risk of cancer and it is possible that the men who exercised more also had healthier diets.

Source: "Association of physical activity with cancer incidence, mortality, and survival: a population-based study of men" British Journal of Cancer (2008) 98, 1864-1869.

Moderate drinking and exercise lower heart disease risk

Multiple news sources reported a study that found those who drank moderate amounts of alcohol and exercised regularly had reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD).

In this prospective cohort study of 12,000 Danish people who had no pre-existing IHD, the researchers investigated the combined effects of exercise and weekly alcohol consumption on death from heart disease and deaths from any cause, followed up for 20 years.

The authors said this is one of the first to have looked at the combined effects of both alcohol and exercise on the heart. Conclusion: "Leisure-time physical activity and a moderate weekly alcohol intake are both important to lower the risk of fatal IHD and all-cause mortality."

Source: "The combined influence of leisure-time physical activity and weekly alcohol intake on fatal ischaemic heart disease and all-cause mortality" European Heart Journal 2008 29(2):204-212

Exercise can make you younger

A new study based on the analysis of questionnaires of more than 2400 twins found that physically active adults are biologically younger than inactive ones - they have longer telomeres that are the caps at the end of the chromosomes. Telomeres tend to get shorter as people age and are used as an indicator of a peson's biological age.


The research team said the "differences in telomere length between active and inactive individuals cannot be explained by variations in genes, smoking, BMI and socioeconomic status", and the findings "could be used by clinicians to promote the potentially anti-aging effect of regular exercise". The study is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 28th issue.

In an editorial in the same issue, an expert said there could be other factors responsible for the biological differences between active and sedentary people, but the findings provide the evidence that telomere length might be targeted in studying ageing outcomes.

Source: "The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leukocyte Telomere Length."Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(2):154-158. ( full text via Athens)

Pedometer - a perfect gift for motivating physical activity.

A review of 8 randomized controlled trials and 18 observational studies with a total of 2767 participants was carried out to evaluate the association of pedometer use with physical activity and health outcomes, according to an article in JAMA.

The study found that pedometer users in RCTs significantly increased their physical activity by 2491 steps per day more than control participants while those in observational studies 2183 steps per day over baseline. The pedometer users significantly decreased their body mass index by 0.38, the intervention participants significantly decreased their systolic blood pressure by 3.8 mm Hg. However, whether these changes are durable over the long term is undetermined.

A pedometer counts steps a person takes and the distance he/she has walked and has become popular as an everyday exercise motivator - a perfect Christmas gift for someone who wants to increase physical activitity and improve health.

Source : "Using Pedometers to Increase Physical Activity and Improve Health - Systematic Review" JAMA. 2007;298(19):2296-2304. (abstract only)