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By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) – When it comes to heart health issues, no amount of exercise is too much, scientists said on Tuesday in a study that debunks the myth that high levels of vigorous physical activity might not always be beneficial.
Research has found that “every movement counts” for improving cardiovascular health, scientists said, with the lowest risk of heart disease in people who exercised the most.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide – killing nearly 18 million people a year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
This research, which involved more than 90,000 people studied over a five-year period, found that the 25% of people most active in vigorous intensity activities had an average reduction in heart disease risk of between 54% and 63%.
For those in the top quarter of all exercise types – spanning moderate to vigorous activity – the average reduction in heart disease risk was between 48% and 57%.
“It debunks the myth that there is a peak beyond which you shouldn’t exercise more,” said Rema Ramakrishnan, a biostatistician and epidemiologist at the University of Oxford who co-led the study. “There is no limit to what you can do in terms of physical activity (to improve heart health).”
Aiden Doherty, an Oxford professor who worked with Ramakrishnan, said the study results were a strong endorsement from the WHO advice that people should aim for at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise to vigorous per week.
“This is the largest study ever on device-measured physical activity and cardiovascular disease,” he said. This shows that “physical activity is probably even more important … than previously thought”.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, used wrist-worn activity trackers called accelerometers to accurately record the activity of more than 90,000 participants.
The researchers said the results were similar for men and women, although the benefits of vigorous exercise seemed especially great for women.
And while people who exercised more were also more likely to not smoke, to be at a healthy weight, and to have moderate alcohol consumption, the researchers said they adjusted for these factors and still have. found a strong link between higher levels of exercise and lower rates of heart disease.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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