The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7245 p538
19 April 2003

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Vigorous exercise helps prevent premature death

Only regular vigorous exercise, such as jogging, hiking and stair climbing, is likely to stave off an early death from heart disease, say researchers, throwing doubt on current recommendations that daily moderate exercise can help protect against premature death.

The researchers, from Queen's University Belfast, monitored a sample of 2,000 men in Caerphilly, over 10 years. At the start of the study the men were aged between 45 and 59 years and had no evidence of heart disease. During the monitoring period, 252 men died. With the exception of deaths from cancer, men who were least active had the highest premature death rates. After adjusting for age and other risk factors, the heaviest levels of physical activity were associated with the lowest rates of death from all causes and heart disease.

Moderate and light levels of regular exercise had no consistent impact on death rates from all causes, or specifically from heart disease. "The critical factor seemed to be the level of exercise taken, rather than the amount of energy expended," say the researchers.

They conclude that exercise has profound benefits on health, but that only vigorous exercise seems to make any difference to the risk of premature death from heart disease (Heart 2003;89:502).