Exercise Reverses Unhealthy Effects of Inactivity
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
DURHAM, N.C. -- Many of the detrimental effects of physical inactivity can be reversed, and in some cases improved, by a similar period of moderate exercise, Duke University Medical Center researchers have found in a new analysis of data from the first randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of exercise in sedentary overweight men and women.
Just as important, the trial participants who exhibited the greatest decline in physical status during inactivity benefited the most from exercise training, according to the researchers.
"Continuing to lead an inactive lifestyle leads to a gradual decline in many important markers for cardiovascular health," said Jennifer Robbins, an exercise physiologist at Duke, who presented the results of the study June 2, 2006, at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Denver.
"The good news is that a small amount of physical activity can make a big difference in reducing the risks for developing such conditions as heart disease, stroke or diabetes," she said.
The current study stemmed from a recently completed trial known as STRRIDE (Studies of a Targeted Risk Reduction Intervention through Defined Exercise).
The STRRIDE trial, in which the intervention ran for six months, randomly assigned 334 participants into three different exercise groups and one control group.
"This means this population of sedentary people needed to exercise just to maintain their current weight.
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