By Xinhua,
Beijing : Weight still matters: a new study finds that being active can lower heart disease risks faced by heavy women, according to U.S. media reports Tuesday.
The new study involving nearly 39,000 women helps sort out the combined effects of physical activity and body mass on women’s chances of developing heart disease.
As the study started, the women filled out a questionnaire at age of 54 on average detailing their height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity in the past year, including brisk walking, jogging, bicycling and swimming. They were then tracked for about 11 years and overall 948 women developed heart disease.
Compared with normal-weight active women, the risk for developing heart disease was 54 percent higher in overweight active women and 87 percent higher in obese active women. By contrast, it was 88 percent higher in overweight inactive women; and 2 and half times greater in obese inactive women.
About two in five U.S. women at age 50 will eventually develop heart attacks or other cardiovascular problems. Excess weight can raise those odds in many ways, including by increasing blood pressure and risks for diabetes, and by worsening cholesterol. Exercise counteracts all three.
“It is reassuring to see that physical activity really does make an impact,” said lead author Dr. Amy Weinstein of Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. However, she added, “If you’re overweight or obese, you can’t really get back to that lower risk entirely with just physical activity alone.”