It’s Not Too Late to Begin Exercising for Heart Health
There is no doubt that obesity has devastating effects on heart health. This has long been proven. A study from 2002 in the New England Journal of Medicine sought to discover if there was a link between body mass index, BMI, and risks for heart failure. What they ultimately discovered is that a link does indeed exist between higher BMI ratios and heart failure. With obesity at epic proportions within the United States, 35% of all adults in the US are considered obese, we also have a heart problem.
Advanced Surgical and Weight Loss Institute knows that permanent weight loss can be hard to achieve alone. This is why our team works with our bariatric surgery patients in Melbourne, FL every step of the way. Obesity is not just a weight issue. It has far-reaching health implications that go far beyond the scale. It is for this reason that we encourage our obese and overweight patients to begin a practical exercise regimen suited to their needs. Emerging research now suggests that even if you have lived a sedentary lifestyle, you can do wonders for your heart by beginning a cardiovascular program in middle age. Let’s dig deeper.
As you age, your heart, a muscle, becomes stiffer much like your limbs and other parts of your body. If you do not take action, this stiffness leads to a smaller, less efficient heart and many do not know that they are in trouble until it is too late. Consider this, your heart is a muscle just like any other in your body. If you do not exercise it, you will, in effect, lose it. However, the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine recently published a study which found that even if you have not exercised throughout your entire life, you can make incredible strides towards heart health if you begin in middle age.
Participants were put into two different exercise groups and followed for 2 years. One group was considered non-aerobic in nature and focused on activities like yoga, balance control, and weight lifting three times per week. The other group engaged in aerobic exercise ranging from moderate to high-intensity with a focus on interval training for at least 4 times per week.
What researchers found was that those members of the high-intensity training group saw tremendous gains in the strengths of their hearts. In essence, they turned back time and made their hearts younger through cardiovascular training. Their hearts became stronger and more capable of pumping blood efficiently, oxygen uptake was improved, and cardiovascular stiffness lessened. It is important to note that these participants were considered sedentary prior to their participation in this study.
It is never too late to begin caring for your body, even if you have not done so in the past. Start today with healthy weight loss and cardiovascular training. If you have questions about bariatric surgery, please contact our offices today. Let us partner with you to reveal your best life.