Even Moderate Physical Fitness Can Reduce Risk Of Heart Disease

Normal physical fitness is usually characterized by a smaller waist, no diabetes or hypertension, and no excess weight or obesity – the chief risk factors for heart disease. But Canadian researchers have determined that lower physical fitness – even as much as 20 percent below the healthy population average – can also serve to prevent those five risk factors. The study involved 205 men and 44 women with heart disease who took a stationary bicycle stress test. The researchers said the easiest way to achieve normal physical fitness is to follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization: 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise.