At Vitality, we’re huge proponents of the benefits that even small lifestyle and dietary changes can have on one’s health. This is further confirmed in new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
We know that poor fitness is a risk factor for heart failure. The study examined previously sedentary healthy middle-aged adults who engaged in two years of exercise training and realized “improved maximal oxygen uptake and decreased cardiac stiffness.” Meaning that even after years of inactivity, they may have reduced or reversed the risk of heart failure.
“The key to a healthier heart in middle age is the right dose of exercise, at the right time in life,” said study author Benjamin D. Levine, M.D. “We found what we believe to be the optimal dose of the right kind of exercise, which is four to five times a week, and the ‘sweet spot’ in time, when the heart risk from a lifetime of sedentary behavior can be improved, which is late-middle age. The result was a reversal of decades of a sedentary lifestyle on the heart for most of the study participants.”
In the new year, this research is excellent news and we hope our members will use it as additional motivation as they set their sights on eating better, being more active and enjoying a new, improved and healthy life!
