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To the surprise of absolutely no one, a new study finds that women who are overweight or obese can reduce their risk of heart disease by exercising more. These results, the researchers conclude, “highlight the importance of counseling all women to participate in increasing amounts of regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight to reduce the risk of heart disease.”
The study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, used data from the Women's Health Study. They looked at 39,000 women age 45 years or older who began the study free of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. Over the next 11 years, 948 women suffered a heart attack or another form of heart disease.
As you might expect, physically active women with normal body weights had the lowest risk of heart disease. Inactive, obese subjects were 2.53-times more likely to develop heart disease. Obese and overweight women who were physically active reduced their risk of heart disease; but their risks were still higher than women of normal weight.
Talk to your doctor before adding any new exercise or weight-loss programs to your daily routine.
SOURCES: Archives of Internal Medicine, April 28, 2008; National Library of Medicine
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