Benefits of leisure-time physical activity on the cardiovascular risk profile at older age

Background Intensity, frequency and duration of physical activity may contribute in different ways to the maintenance of cardiovascular health. Their relative importance may also change at different stages in life and this should be taken into account for activity recommendations. Methods The relationship of frequency and duration of leisure-time physical activities with cardiovascular risk factors was studied in 4942 male and 5885 female participants aged 50-69, of the German Cardiovascular Prevention Study (1984-1991). Results After adjustment for several possible confounders, women with modest levels (2-12 times per month, 0.5-2 h per week) of moderate-to-vigorous activity (greater than or equal to 5 kcal/kg/h) had significantly lower systolic blood pressure (-1.8%), resting heart rate (-3.1%) and body mass index (-3.2%) values than sedentary women. Beneficial differences increased with frequency and duration of activity. Light activities (3-4.5 kcal/kg/h), conducted greater than or equal to 5 times a week, were significantly associated with favourable lower diastolic blood pressure (-1.4%), resting heart rate (-2.3%) among women, and body mass index (women -2.9%, men -2.2%) among both genders. Recommended activity levels (greater than or equal to 5 times, greater than or equal to 3.5 h weekly) were associated with a lower prevalence of multiple risk factors (odds ratio [OR] = 0.55, 95% CI : 0.41-0.75 for men and OR = 0.44 95 % CI : 0.31-0.63 for women). Conclusions For sedentary elderly, even less physical activity than currently recommended, is likely to improve the cardiovascular risk profile.