Vigorous exercise 'can protect men from strokes'
Playing tennis or jogging can protect men from strokes, but strolling round a golf course and other forms of light exercise do not have the same effect, a study has shown.
Exercise of any type had no impact on women’s risk of stroke.
The study involved 3,298 New Yorkers living in northern Manhattan with an average age of 69. Over a nine-year period 238 strokes occurred among the whole group.
Men who took part in moderate-to-heavy intensity activities such as jogging, swimming or tennis were 63% less likely to suffer a stroke than people taking no exercise.
Those who engaged in vigorous exercise had a stroke risk of 2.75% compared with a 4.6% risk for non-active individuals.
Unlike some other studies, the research showed no benefit from light intensity physical pursuits, such as playing golf, walking or bowling.
Of the total number of participants, 41% reported that they took no exercise. Around a fifth regularly engaged in moderate-to-heavy activity.
The findings were published yesterday in the journal Neurology.
Study leader Dr Joshua Willey, from Columbia University, New York, said: “Taking part in moderate-to-heavy intensity physical activity may be an important factor in preventing stroke.
“A large percentage of the participants were not taking part in any physical activities. This may be true of many elderly people who live in cities. Identifying ways to improve physical activity among these people may be a key goal for public health.”
He acknowledged that the number of people taking part in the study might not have been large enough to reveal subtle differences among those taking only light physical exercise.
