Study Among Older Americans Proves Benefits Of Moderate Physical Activity

Older men and women who participate in moderate physical activity have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a U.S. study of data collected for at least ten years. Researchers studied 4,207 men and women – mean age 73 – enrolled in an NIH heart health study beginning in 1989-90. Key associations (compared with non-participants): adults in their seventies who walked faster than three miles per hour had a 50 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease; those who walked seven blocks a day had a 54 percent lower risk of stroke; and those who engaged in leisure activities such as lawn-mowing, raking, biking, hiking, etc., had a lower risk of heart disease and stroke compared to those who did not.