One form of exercise is better if you want to increase your chance to live long
The study, just published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, is the first to directly compare fitness and muscle strength in relation to the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death.
The researchers followed almost 10,000 Danes over 27 years of age, with about 5,000 dead. The results showed that both strength and fitness training reduced the risk of heart disease and increased life. The study also shows that fitness training had the greatest effect.
More specifically, people with high fitness had a 10 percent lower risk of both premature death and cardiovascular disease compared to those who primarily strengthened. In addition, it was more critical to reduce the amount of fitness training from a moderate to a low level than to cut back on strength training. According to the study, a decrease in fitness training increased the risk of premature death by 19 percent more than a similar decline in strength training.
According to the study's lead author, cardiologist Peter Schnohr, the conclusion was expected.
« I am a heartbeat and most studies on health and the heart are first and foremost about getting the pulse up and training the circuit. In strength training, the pulse does not come up very high, so I have been curious in the past how much strength training really means to reduce the risk of heart disease, » he said according to BT
However, he emphasizes that the best strategy for health is a combination of fitness and strength training.
If you ask Professor Erik Richter from the University of Copenhagen, then the study should be praised for its relevance to Danes.
« It's a solid study with some important points that we probably had a sense of in advance, but which is good to get confirmed. »
Participants reported their own exercise habits themselves, which may cause some uncertainty, but the researchers believe this is minimal.
Previous studies show that people are generally accurate in their assessment of their own form, and strength tests on some of the participants confirmed the results.
