Exercise is not as good as we thought - British Heart Fou...

British Heart Foundation

54,328 members33,995 posts

Exercise is not as good as we thought

Paul12 profile image
12 Replies

HIIT is protective against stroke - apparently

Exercising an hour a day is good isn’t it? Example, a one hour aerobics class and a fifteen minute walk to work.

Protective??

er... no

MAY INCREASE HEART RISK

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

Now where’s that remote...

Written by
Paul12 profile image
Paul12
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
12 Replies
Chappychap profile image
Chappychap

There's at least one glaring problem with this research, it's not a double blind test. The people within the study self selected what exercise category they went into, which opens up the possibility of all sorts of bias.

Let's just take one tiny example, an individual in this test knows that they have a parent who died from a heart attack or stroke in their 50's. Consequently that person decides to diet and exercise vigorously throughout their life. Bottom line is that you then have a person with a high genetic disposition towards heart disease who also happens to be in the highest exercise category. The exact same mechanism could play out for other co-morbidities like diabetes.

It's interesting research, but it's a million miles away from concluding that it's even remotely okay to slob out and be a couch potato!

Paul12 profile image
Paul12 in reply toChappychap

Interesting. So if someone in a high risk category - say middle aged and overweight - is given a statin and then gets diabetes, this diabetes could be in spite of the statin not because of...

Chappychap profile image
Chappychap in reply toPaul12

But that's easy to manage in a test, half the group is given statins, the other half a placebo. They don't self select and they don't know if they have a placebo or not. Furthermore even the evaluators don't know. That's why it's called "double blind" and is the gold standard for medical research.

in reply toPaul12

Haven't I read somewhere that many people who had HA/cardiac diseases aren't necessarily obese or had high cholesterol? There are so many comments on this hub that "I thought I was fit and active". Indeed, they were.

It is a myth that you had cardiac diseases because A (overweight), B (sedentary) or C (high LDL) for example. You can be fit, eat sensibly and active.

"But" you had HA/stroke, regardless. If someone is thin or slim/active, it doesn't mean you won't have HA. Some studies even discount low LDL results as "not so useful". It doesn't mean you can pig out daily, as we all know, it's merely "a common sense", it does not need to be backed by science. We just know.

I have seen the claim that weight fluctuation worse than being a little obese/obese for the heart. I can believe that. "But" usually these articles tend to want to make a sweeping statement anyway. "This is more common in Men". So women aren't affected? Are we exempt for some reason? And they don't even know, they just conclude out of nowhere. Loads of biases.

Similar to gutter press journalism. One minute, "oh, keto is great". 6 months/a year later. "Well, it's not". "We found this latest data to surprise you with, listen out"..then it will be a counter-argument based on "that study" not "this one" down the line. It's a bit like changing wallpapers. The bottom line is that they make you think they got some exciting news to tell and you need to be excited by. The same old.

Following these, you are wasting your own time. "Read" - individuality. We are all different. One size does not fit all.

Chappychap profile image
Chappychap in reply to

"I have seen the weight fluctuation worse than being a little obese/obese."

I'm not entirely sure what that means. But I am very sure that being obese, even just slightly obese, is a really, really bad thing!

Sure, some obese people won't get heart disease, and some thin people will. But they're very much the exceptions and not the rule.

Obesity is the new smoking. It massively increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and plenty of other medical conditions. Unless we find a way of reversing the obesity epidemic we're looking a pretty bleak future of severely impaired lives and where funding the NHS will become virtually impossible.

in reply toChappychap

Great sense of humour as ever.

I will reply, to add some clarity, in due course.

Thank you.

Qualipop profile image
Qualipop in reply to

Precisely. I had a Heart attack in August. I'm not overweight, was fairly active and healthy, had low cholesterol BUT I smoked heavily and have a family history through my mum of heart disease even though hers was caused by illness in pregnancy.

stevejb1810 profile image
stevejb1810 in reply toPaul12

Yes, because high cholesterol levels are not in themselves indicators of the likelihood of being diabetic. They are entirely different things. If you have a high body fat level, carry most of the excess fat around your midriff and have a BMI above 30 (ish), you have a very good chance of developing type 2 diabetes irrespective of you blood cholesterol levels. Similarly, you can be seemingly very fit, have a BMI below 25 and still have high cholesterol levels (requiring treatment with statins).

tunybgur profile image
tunybgur

Whatever you want to read into this data, looking at overall health, thin is good (not too thin obviously), fat is bad.

Whatever the exercise regime, I don't think you'll find any medical opinion that disagrees with this generalisation.

pinnelli profile image
pinnelli

Interesting but hardly conclusive. I had a HA but was very fit and healthy however I still know that meditate excercise and healthy diet is still best for me for all sorts of health reason & QUALITY of life not necessarily quantity.

Everything in sensible moderation.

I’d rather be healthy and fit enough to be able to walk up a mountain, play some sport, he’ll walk around town without being breathless as that’s all enjoyable .

These studies come and go but the underlying message re benefits of healthy eating and exercise remain constant .

Howardl profile image
Howardl

Is this for a healthy person. I have heart failure and af, I think 10mins @150 bpm might see me out.

Bazza1234 profile image
Bazza1234

Exercise??? You can't run away from a bad diet - and you also cannot run away from the parents that you chose!!!!

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Exercise is Good for You

Well we all know this but I am going to tell you about someone who lived to a good age with no...
MichaelJH profile image
Heart Star

Recovery and a balanced lifestyle - fun is as important as exercise

Forgive me if I am a little old-fashioned but I trained in occupational therapy many years ago,...
Rainfern profile image

exercise or not?

hi everyone , me again! As you know lm worried about my heart problem as, no doubt you all are. My...

Not feeling good 🙁

Hi all. It’s been a week since my stent (recap they tried to go in my arm and failed so had to go...

Angina at rest but not exercise?

Is it possible to have angina whilst resting, but ok doing everything else like exercise etc with...
young85 profile image

Moderation team

See all
HUModerator profile image
HUModeratorAdministrator
Luke_BHF profile image
Luke_BHFPartner
Amy-BHF profile image
Amy-BHFPartner

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.