Everyone knows that exercise is good for your health, integral to keeping your risks of conditions like heart attack, diabetes and stroke low. Now, a new study shows that at least for stroke, the key to reaping those benefits is to work out to the point where you break a sweat.
Researchers from the University of South Australia found that stroke risk is 20 percent higher for inactive people compared with those who regularly work out at a moderate to vigorous level — a level that would cause a person to break a sweat.
The study, published in the journal Stroke, included 27,000 Americans ages 45 and older who were part of the Reasons for Geographic and Ethnic Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. The researchers noted that there were about equal numbers of male and female, white and black participants in the study; many of the pariticipants were part of the “Stroke Belt” in the south.
Researchers followed them for 5.7 years on average to gauge how many would go on to experience a stroke, as well as their self-reported regular exercise habits. They found that about one third of the participants were considered “inactive,” meaning they exercise fewer than one time a week.
December 22, 2024