Women Who Do Not Exercise are More Likely to Get Heart Diseases Than Smokers: Study

Not exercising regularly is more dangerous than smoking as it increases the risk of heart diseases in women, according to a study.
Australian researchers found women aged 30 and above are more susceptible to a number of health conditions, particularly cardiovascular problems due to inactivity and sedentary life style. Most women give up the habit of smoking and using tobacco products after embracing motherhood. Family pressure and raising children leave women too little time to engage in physical and outdoor activities as a result many fall prey to heart problems in later life.
The study by the University of Queensland in Australia examined more than 32,000 women aged between 20 and 90 years who took part in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. It was observed smoking was a common habit of women aged between 22 and 27 that significantly dropped after they reached age 30. A large proportion of the participants said they indulged in no physical activity or exercise during the entire study period.
Middle aged women with very high body mass index had 79 percent increased risk of heart diseases, which was mainly attributable to inactivity than smoking. Furthermore, the study authors estimated more than 2,000 lives could be protected against the disease if all women aged between 30 and 90 walked or bicycled daily for half an hour.
The authors urge health officials and public authorities to educate women to remain physically active to increase life span and ward off fatal heart diseases.
"Our data suggest that national programs for the promotion and maintenance of physical activity, across the adult lifespan, but especially in young adulthood, deserve to be a much higher public health priority for women than they are now," said Wendy Brown, study author and researcher at the Center for Exercise, Physical Activity and Health, reports the Telegraph.
"We already know physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease. Interestingly, this study shows its dominant influence on heart disease amongst women, and suggests a greater need to promote regular physical activity amongst this group," said Thembi Nkala, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the research, reports the Telegraph.
More information is available online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
May 09, 2014 10:23 AM EDT