We all know exercise is good for us–but statistics show most of us aren’t making it a habit. According to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, less than 5 percent of adults get 30 minutes of physical activity each day, with many more who just don’t exercise.
Now research shows skimping on exercise could prove deadly, especially if you’re an older woman.
Reporting in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers say post-menopausal women who stayed the most physically active faced a 10 percent reduced risk of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat that could lead to stroke or heart failure. Those who did not, however, were more likely to die from this condition.
Marco V. Perez, M.D., lead author of the study, now says this shows how important exercise is for everyone–especially after menopause.
“We found the more physically active the women were, the less likely it was that they would develop atrial fibrillation,” says Perez, who is a director of the Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “Also, the more obese the women were, the more they benefited from having greater degrees of physical activity.”
Recruiting more than 81,000 post-menopausal women between the ages of 50 to 79, Perez first quizzed them on their exercise habits–such as how long they walked or engaged in physical activity. Researchers then followed them for a total of 11 years to see how their exercise habits affected their risk of atrial fibrillation.
Using something called MET, a measurement used to gauge how much energy is expended during physical activity, Perez then split the women up based on how much MET hours they engaged in. Not surprisingly, those who stayed the most physically active, getting more than 9 MET hours every week, faced a 10 percent reduced risk of atrial fibrillation. This, notes researchers, is the equivalent of walking briskly for 30 minutes a day most days of the week.
What surprised researchers was that women who only stayed moderately active–getting around 3 MET hours per week–still reduced their risk by 6 percent. This is the equivalent of walking 30 minutes twice a week.
Those who simply didn’t exercise faced a higher risk of developing this condition, however.
“Higher levels of physical activity reduced the AF [atrial fibrillation] risk conferred by obesity,” says Perez. “Greater physical activity is associated with lower rates of incident AF [atrial fibrillation] and modifies the association between obesity and incident AF [atrial fibrillation].”
What This Means For You
While Perez stresses that more research needs to be done, he believes that exercise can be instrumental for keeping women’s hearts protected–and you too should make it a habit. To stay fit, aim to stay physically active for at least 30 minutes a day. Experts recommend starting off with walking if you’re new to exercise.
Readers: How often do you exercise every week?
Sources:
Fitness Facts and Statistics – Fitness.gov
Study: Women Who Stay Most Physically Active Less Likely to Develop Abnormal Heart Rhythm – AHAJournals.org
Study: Atrial Fibrillation in Older Women Reduced By Walking Regularly – ScienceDaily.com
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