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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