Exercise can burn calories, which can help you maintain or reach a healthy weight.
Regular exercise also improves factors linked to cardiovascular health, resulting in lower blood pressure, healthier cholesterol levels, and better blood sugar regulation.
In a study from the National Institute for Health and Care Research, scientists found that increasing physical activity of any intensity is beneficial for health, but there is a greater reduction in heart disease risk when more of that activity is of at least moderate intensity.
They analyzed wrist-worn accelerometer-measured physical activity data from more than 88,000 UK Biobank participants.
Scientists recommend that adults should aim to be active every day, and also that adults should undertake 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (such as a brisk walk) or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity (such as running) every week.
In the study, the team examined the association between physical activity volume and intensity and cardiovascular disease incidence in 88,412 middle-aged adults free from cardiovascular disease in Great Britain.
These individuals wore a research-grade activity tracker on their dominant wrist for a week while taking part in the UK Biobank study.
The movement data they collected was used to calculate the total volume of activity, and the authors also worked out the percentage of that volume that was achieved through moderate and vigorous-intensity activity.
The team found that total physical activity volume was strongly associated with a decrease in heart disease risk, they also showed that getting more of the total physical activity volume from moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was associated with a further reduction in heart risk.
Heart disease rates were 14% lower when moderate-to-vigorous physical activity accounted for 20% rather than 10% of overall physical activity energy expenditure, even in those that otherwise had low levels of activity.
This is equivalent to converting a daily 14-min stroll into a brisk 7-min walk.
Overall, the lowest heart disease rates were observed among those UK Biobank participants who undertook higher overall levels of physical activity and a higher proportion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
However, interestingly, when the overall volume of physical activity increased but the proportion from moderate-to-vigorous activity remained the same, the authors found little effect on heart disease rate.
The study confirms that increasing the total amount of physical activity can lower the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke, but it also found that achieving the same overall amount of physical activity through higher-intensity activity has a substantial additional benefit.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies about chronic itch linked to heart disease, and drinking coffee this way may prevent heart disease, and stroke.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about how magnesium helps protect your heart rhythm, and results showing the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease.
The study was conducted by Dr. Paddy Dempsey et al and published in the European Heart Journal.
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