New study finds when it comes to exercise and cardiovascular health ‘the most active gain the most benefits’

A new study published this week in PLOS Medicine from the University of Oxford found that there is no limit to the cardiovascular benefits of exercise. The study used data from 90,211 UK Biobank participants without prior cardiovascular disease.

The participants wore an accelerometer to measure physical activity over a 7 day period in 2013 through to 2015. Participants were followed up for an average of 5.2 years and it was found that individuals in the lowest category of physical activity had a higher body mass index, C-reactive protein (a high level of CRP in the blood is a marker of inflammation) and were more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension.

The results showed that physical activity was not only associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease but there was no threshold for the association. Individuals participating in the most activity had the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease. The most active were found to have an average reduction in risk of between 48 and 57 per cent. Interestingly the results were particularly strong for the females in the study.

NOTE: PLOS Medicine is a weekly peer reviewed medical journal