RESEARCH - Walking packs huge health punch, study confirms

[Guest guest]

Walking packs huge health punch, study confirms

Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:53pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A brisk 30-minute walk 6 days a week is

enough to trim waistlines and cut the risk of metabolic syndrome -- an

increasingly common condition that is linked to obesity and a

sedentary lifestyle, a new study indicates.

" Our study shows that you'll benefit even if you don't make any

dietary changes, " study leader Johanna L. , a clinical

researcher at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina,

said in a statement.

It's estimated that about one quarter of all U.S. adults have

metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors that raise the odds of

developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke. To be diagnosed with

metabolic syndrome, a person must have at least three of these five

risk factors -- a large waistline, high blood pressure, high levels of

harmful triglycerides, low levels of " good " HDL cholesterol, and high

blood sugar -- and according to many studies, a growing number of

people have these problems.

The new findings stem from the STRRIDE study -- an acronym for Studies

of a Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise --

in which investigators examined the effects of varying amounts and

intensity of exercise on 171 middle-aged, overweight men and women.

Before exercising regularly, 41 percent of the study subjects met the

criteria for metabolic syndrome. At the end of the 8-month exercise

program, only 27 percent did.

" That's a significant decline in prevalence, " said . " It's also

encouraging news for sedentary, middle-aged adults who want to improve

their health. It means they don't have to go out running 4 or 5 days a

week; they can get significant health benefits by simply walking

around the neighborhood after dinner every night. "

The results of the STRRIDE study, which was funded by the National

Institutes of Health, appear in the American Journal of Cardiology

this month.

People in the study who exercised the least - walking 30 minutes 6

days a week or the equivalent of about 11 miles per week -- gained

significant benefit, while those who exercised the most, jogging about

17 miles per week, gained slightly more benefit in terms of lowered

metabolic syndrome scores.

People who did a short period of very vigorous exercise didn't improve

their metabolic syndrome scores as much as those who performed less

intense exercise for a longer period, the researchers found.

This suggests, they say, that there's more value in doing moderate

intensity exercise every day rather than more intense activity just a

few days a week.

All of the exercisers lost inches around their waistline over the

8-month study period, whereas the inactive control group gained an

average of about one pound and a half-inch around the waist. " That may

not sound like much, but that's just 6 months. Over a decade, that's

an additional 20 pounds and 10 inches at the belt line, " noted Duke

cardiologist Dr. E. Kraus, the study's principal investigator.

" The results of our study, " he added, " underscore what we have known

for a long time. Some exercise is better than none, more exercise is

generally better than less, and no exercise can be disastrous. "

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, December 15, 2007.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTON78551520071217?pageNumber=2 & vir\

tualBrandChannel=0

--

Not an MD