WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - People who are less physically fit may need to exercise 30 to 50 minutes more each week than fitter people to get the same heart health benefits, according to a new study.
To reach this conclusion, researchers studied data from more than 17,000 adults in the UK between the ages of 40 and 69. The participants took a cycling fitness test to measure their heart and lung fitness levels and wore fitness trackers for a week to record how much exercise they normally did.
The researchers then followed the participants for about eight years. During that time, more than 1,200 people experienced cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that meeting the NHS guideline, which recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week, lowered the risk of heart disease and related conditions by about 8% to 9%.
'Given that large proportions of the population do not meet even this benchmark, the primary public health message remains straightforward: achieving 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous activity delivers meaningful cardiovascular protection regardless of fitness level,' the authors noted.
Researchers also found that doing more exercise reduced the risk even further. However, people with lower fitness levels had to exercise longer to achieve the same health benefits as fitter people.
The findings emphasized that while exercise benefits everyone, people starting from lower fitness levels may need extra activity to gain the same level of protection against heart disease. Even small increases in physical activity can still improve overall health and fitness over time.
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