Physical activity: Is it still a risk factor?

Physical activity, diet uncontrolled, can change many CHD risk factors in a “favorable” direction, i.e., weight, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and blood lipids, which provides the rationale for attempts to encourage increased activity in sedentary affluent populations.

Abstract

Habitual levels of occupational and leisure time physical activity vary widely between populations; the former are unrelated to population rates of coronary heart disease (CHD). The proportion of men in sedentary occupations is unrelated to 10-year incidence of CHD in the Seven Countries, for any CHD, hard CHD, or CHD deaths. Coronary heart disease rates are not significantly different between active and sedentary U.S. railroad employees on adjustment for other risk factors. Noncoronary deaths are much higher in active railroad employees. The proportion of sedentary men in populations is negatively related to 10-year deaths from all causes in the Seven Countries Study. In addition, there are wide differences in the relationship of occupational activity to CHD incidence, being unrelated in the United States, negatively related in Italy and Holland, in a U-shaped relationship in Yugoslavia, and in an inverted U-shaped relationship in Finland, where sedentary and very active men had similar coronary disease rates, and moderately active men had double their coronary disease rates. Habitual occupational activity is strongly and inversely related to deaths from all causes in Finland. None of the Seven Countries data bear on the protective effect of anaerobic exercise. "Peasants never get short of breath." Physical activity, diet uncontrolled, can change many CHD risk factors in a "favorable" direction, i.e., weight, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and blood lipids. This provides the rationale for attempts to encourage increased activity in sedentary affluent populations. The primary prevention of elevated risk factors requires the engineering of regular activity into work and leisure time of affluent societies.