Want To Avoid Heart Disease? Brisk Walking Can Help

Posting Date: 08/25/1999

I think it?s pretty obvious that more active women would have more favorable health risk profiles. But the question is, how much activity do you need to get?

Well, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that simply walking several times a week is as effective as vigorous exercise in reducing a woman?s risk of heart disease.

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This finding is important because federal health officials are hoping it will encourage women to get regular physical activity in a way that is safe, achievable and feasible.

Walking fits the bill and researchers say walking briskly for three hours a week, or exercising vigorously for 1.5 hours, will reduce coronary heart disease risk in women by 30 to 40 percent.

This study looks at data on 72,000 female nurses, participants in the now-famous Nurses' Health Study, which is a comprehensive look at risk factors for heart disease and other illnesses. It was the Nurses' study that told us waist-hip ratio was a more important factor in heart disease risk that body mass index. (You can try our waist-hip ratio calculator right here at HealthCentral.)

But even though this revelation comes from a specific population, it can apply to us all. I think the main point is to just be active and don?t drive yourself crazy worrying about a strenuous exercise program.

Source: The New England Journal of Medicine, August 26, 1999