(Press-News.org) The findings indicate that it is the intensity, rather than the duration, of exercise that counts in combating the impact of metabolic syndrome - a combination of factors, including midriff bulge, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of blood glucose and abnormal blood fat levels - say the authors.
Genes, diet, and lack of exercise are thought to be implicated in the development of the syndrome, which is conducive to inflammation and blood thickening.
The authors base their findings on more than 10,000 Danish adults, between the ages of 21 and 98, who were initially assessed in 1991-94 and then monitored for up to 10 years. All the participants were quizzed on the amount of physical activity they did, which was categorised according to intensity and duration.
At the initial assessment, around one in five (20.7%) women and just over one in four (27.3%) men had metabolic syndrome. Prevalence was closely linked to physical activity level.
Among the women, almost one in three of those who had a sedentary lifestyle had the syndrome whereas only one in 10 of those who were very physically active had it. Among men, the equivalent proportions were just under 37% and just under 14%
Of the remaining 6,088 participants without metabolic syndrome, just under two thirds (3,992) completed the fourth and final survey and assessment, by which point one in seven (15.4%; 585) had developed it.
Again, the prevalence was higher among those leading a sedentary lifestyle, with almost one in five (19.4%) affected compared with around one in nine (11.8%) of those who were very physically active.
It was not only the amount of exercise, but also the intensity which helped curb the likelihood of developing the syndrome.
After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, fast walking speed halved the risk, while jogging cut the risk by 40 per cent. But going for an hour's walk every day made no difference.
"Our results confirm the role of physical activity in reducing [metabolic syndrome] risk and suggest that intensity rather than volume of physical activity is important," conclude the authors.
### END
Fast walking and jogging halve development of heart disease and stroke risk factors
But an hour's walk every day makes no difference: Intensity rather than duration is what counts
2012-10-09
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
MRSA researchers identify new class of drug effective against superbug
2012-10-09
COLUMBUS, Ohio - In two separate studies, researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have discovered a new class of treatment against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as well as evidence of a growing need to quickly genotype individual strains of the organism most commonly referred to as the "superbug."
"The public is most familiar with the dramatic progression of skin infections caused by MRSA, but MRSA is responsible for a range of difficult to treat illnesses," noted Dr. Kurt B. Stevenson, an infectious disease expert at Ohio ...
Young people need financial support and guidance when they age out of foster care, MU expert says
2012-10-09
COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the economy and job market continue to recover, many young adults have moved in with their parents to save money. For teens and 20-somethings who grew up in foster care, saving money is especially difficult because they have aged out of a system that provided support in earlier years and lack important family ties they can depend upon, particularly as they enter adulthood and embark on their own. Now, a University of Missouri child welfare expert says youths in foster care need financial education and support to build assets so they can become financially ...
A welcome predictability
2012-10-09
Synthetic biology is the latest and most advanced phase of genetic engineering, holding great promise for helping to solve some of the world's most intractable problems, including the sustainable production of energy fuels and critical medical drugs, and the safe removal of toxic and radioactive waste from the environment. However, for synthetic biology to reach its promise, the design and construction of biological systems must be as predictable as the assembly of computer hardware.
An important step towards attaining a higher degree of predictability in synthetic biology ...
Wireless data at top speed
2012-10-09
Whether it's a wedding, birthday party or other celebration, these days the chances are you'll have your camcorder with you to record the great occasion. But we often forget to bring the data cable along with us, so despite promising the hosts to transfer the images to their computer the morning after, we hardly ever do. "No problem," we say, "I'll burn you a CD when I get home." It would be so much easier, though, to transfer the data wirelessly.
This thought also occurred to Frank Deicke, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden. ...
App protects Facebook users from hackers
2012-10-09
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) — Cyber-crime is expanding to the fertile grounds of social networks and University of California, Riverside engineers are fighting it.
A recent four-month experiment conducted by several UC Riverside engineering professors and graduate students found that the application they created to detect spam and malware posts on Facebook users' walls was highly accurate, fast and efficient.
The researchers also introduced the new term "socware" to describe a combination of "social malware," encompassing all criminal and parasitic behavior on online ...
Fossil of ancient spider attack only 1 of its type ever discovered
2012-10-09
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web – a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time.
The extraordinarily rare fossils are in a piece of amber that preserved this event in remarkable detail, an action that took place in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar in the Early Cretaceous between 97-110 million years ago, almost certainly with dinosaurs wandering nearby.
Aside from showing the first and only fossil evidence of a spider attacking prey in its web, the piece ...
Poorer lung health leads to age-related changes in brain function
2012-10-09
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Keeping the lungs healthy could be an important way to retain thinking functions that relate to problem-solving and processing speed in one's later years, new research suggests.
While these two types of "fluid" cognitive functions were influenced by reduced pulmonary function, a drop in lung health did not appear to impair memory or lead to any significant loss of stored knowledge, the study showed.
Researchers used data from a Swedish study of aging that tracked participants' health measures for almost two decades. An analysis of the data with statistical ...
Computational model IDs potential pathways to improve plant oil production
2012-10-09
UPTON, NY - Using a computational model they designed to incorporate detailed information about plants' interconnected metabolic processes, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified key pathways that appear to "favor" the production of either oils or proteins. The research, now published online in Plant Physiology, may point the way to new strategies to tip the balance and increase plant oil production.
The study focused on the metabolism of rapeseed, a crop grown primarily in temperate climates for the oil that accumulates ...
2010 Korea bomb 'tests' probably false alarms, says study
2012-10-09
This spring, a Swedish scientist sparked international concern with a journal article saying that radioactive particles detected in 2010 showed North Korea had set off at least two small nuclear blasts--possibly in experiments designed to boost the yields of much larger bombs. Shortly after, the pot was stirred with separate claims that some intelligence agencies suspected the detonations were done in cooperation with Iran. Now, a new paper says the tests likely never took place—or that if they did, they were too tiny to have any military significance. The new report, ...
'Wonder material' graphene could revolutionize cell phones, solar panels and more
2012-10-09
WASHINGTON, October 8, 2012 — Smart phones almost as thin and flexible as paper and virtually unbreakable. Solar panels molded to cover the surface of an electric or hybrid car. Possible treatments for damaged spinal cords. It's not science fiction. Those all are possible applications of a material known as graphene. This so-called "wonder material," the world's strongest (100 times stronger than steel) and thinnest (one ounce would cover 28 football fields), is the focus of a new episode of the ChemMatters video series. The video is at www.BytesizeScience.com.
The video, ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Keeping pediatrics afloat in a sea of funding cuts
Giant resistivity reduction in thin film a key step towards next-gen electronics for AI
First pregnancy with AI-guided sperm recovery method developed at Columbia
Global study reveals how bacteria shape the health of lakes and reservoirs
Biochar reimagined: Scientists unlock record-breaking strength in wood-derived carbon
Synthesis of seven quebracho indole alkaloids using "antenna ligands" in 7-10 steps, including three first-ever asymmetric syntheses
BioOne and Max Planck Society sign 3-year agreement to include subscribe to open pilot
How the arts and science can jointly protect nature
Student's unexpected rise as a researcher leads to critical new insights into HPV
Ominous false alarm in the kidney
MSK Research Highlights, October 31, 2025
Lisbon to host world’s largest conference on ecosystem restoration in 2027, led by researcher from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon
Electrocatalysis with dual functionality – an overview
Scripps Research awarded $6.9 million by NIH to crack the code of lasting HIV vaccine protection
New post-hoc analysis shows patients whose clinicians had access to GeneSight results for depression treatment are more likely to feel better sooner
First transplant in pigs of modified porcine kidneys with human renal organoids
Reinforcement learning and blockchain: new strategies to secure the Internet of Medical Things
Autograph: A higher-accuracy and faster framework for compute-intensive programs
Expansion microscopy helps chart the planktonic universe
Small bat hunts like lions – only better
As Medicaid work requirements loom, U-M study finds links between coverage, better health and higher employment
Manifestations of structural racism and inequities in cardiovascular health across US neighborhoods
Prescribing trends of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists for type 2 diabetes or obesity
Continuous glucose monitoring frequency and glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes
Bimodal tactile tomography with bayesian sequential palpation for intracavitary microstructure profiling and segmentation
IEEE study reviews novel photonics breakthroughs of 2024
New method for intentional control of bionic prostheses
Obesity treatment risks becoming a ‘two-tier system’, researchers warn
Researchers discuss gaps, obstacles and solutions for contraception
Disrupted connectivity of the brainstem ascending reticular activating system nuclei-left parahippocampal gyrus could reveal mechanisms of delirium following basal ganglia intracerebral hemorrhage
[Press-News.org] Fast walking and jogging halve development of heart disease and stroke risk factorsBut an hour's walk every day makes no difference: Intensity rather than duration is what counts