Daily HealthBeat Tip

More than losing weight

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

There is more to exercise than getting slim. Researcher Brian Duscha of Duke University Medical Center found this in a look at more than 130 overweight men and women.

Each week, people walked 12 miles, jogged 12 miles, or jogged 20 miles. Twelve miles – less than a couple of miles a day – counts as moderate activity.

They didn’t lose weight. But even the group that did the least got a fitness benefit associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

Duscha says that should be encouraging:

"When you exercise and do not lose weight, please do not stop exercising. Believe it or not, you are getting a lot of benefit. There’s more to exercise than just weight loss." (eight seconds)

Duscha’s study in the journal Chest was based on data collected with support by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January 19, 2005

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