Study: More Intense Exercise Benefits Heart

Researchers Advise Adding Weight Training To Exercise Program

CHICAGO -- A new study says a little exercise is good but more is better for preventing heart attacks.

The study was led by Dr. Mihaela Tanasescu, of Loma Linda University in California, formerly of Harvard Public School of Health in Boston. The findings are published in Wednesday's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Tanasescu and colleagues studied nearly 45,000 male health care professionals every two years from 1986 through 1998. They found that men who performed high-intensity aerobic exercise were 17 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who performed low-intensity exercise.

Men who ran for an hour or more per week had a 42 percent reduced risk for heart disease compared with men that did not run. And those who weight trained 30 minutes or more a week had a 23 percent lower risk than those who did no weight training, according to the study.

Even brisk walking a half-hour per day or more was beneficial -- men who did it had an 18 percent reduced risk for heart disease. The researchers found that men's risk of heart disease was related to walking speed.

Researchers said men should increase their exercise intensity, from low to moderate and from moderate to high. They also recommend adding weight training to exercise programs.

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