HHS HealthBeat (February 13, 2008)

Either or both

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

If you want to lose weight so your heart is healthier, a study indicates diet, exercise or both work – provided you lose the weight.

Sandor Kovacs and colleagues of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that in a look at the hearts of middle-aged men and women who cut calories or exercised for a year. The study in the American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Both groups lost about 12 percent of their weight, and had similar improvements in their hearts’ ability to fill and pump blood. Their hearts became more supple, like younger hearts.

Kovacs’ conclusion:

``If you want your heart to improve, and if you are overweight, you can lose weight either by dieting, or exercising, or doing both.’’ (8 seconds)

Learn more at hhs.gov.

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

Last revised: February, 12 2008