People who engage in light- to moderate-intensity exercise every day have a lower risk of experiencing a stroke than people who lead mostly sedentary lifestyles, a recent study found.
Roughly 7,600 people with an average age of about 63 were outfitted with accelerometers, sensitive motion detectors that precisely record physical activity, for a recent study published last week in the online database JAMA Network Open.
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San Diego State University researchers found that people who engage in light to moderate physical activity for about 25 minutes every day have a far lower risk of stroke than those who maintain a sedentary lifestyle.
“Light-intensity physical activity can include vacuuming, sweeping the floor, washing the car, leisure strolling, stretching, or playing catch,” said Steven Hooker, dean of SDSU’s College of Health and Human Services and lead researcher of the cohort study.
The study found that people who remained inactive for about 13 hours a day had a 44% increased risk for stroke.
“We observed that both physical activity and being sedentary independently impacted stroke risk,” Hooker said. “Our research demonstrates that strategies for stroke prevention should focus on both.”
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people exercise for about 150 minutes each week in order to preserve their health. Stroke, a severe neurological condition that occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked, is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. About 795,000 people in the U.S. have strokes annually, and of these incidents, about 137,000 people die. It is also treatable and preventable through healthy lifestyle choices such as exercising regularly, abstaining from tobacco, limiting alcohol intake, and controlling blood pressure.
“For overall heart and brain health, move more within your capacity, and sit less,” Hooker said.
