NHLBI Offers Complete Guide to Physical
Activity for a Healthy Heart
About 60 percent of U.S. adults do not get the recommended levels
of physical activity, yet research suggests that regular physical
activity is essential for maintaining a healthy heart. To help people
jump-start and maintain a physical activity program for their heart,
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed a new publication.
“Your Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart” presents
comprehensive and easy-to-understand information on the impact of
physical activity on your heart, as well as the power of physical
activity to keep you healthy overall. Since physical inactivity
is one of several major heart disease risk factors that you can
do something about, the 44-page guide is full of practical tips,
including sample walking and jogging programs, instructions for
finding your target heart rate zone, ideas for making fitness a
family affair, and an overview of the best physical activities for
a healthy heart.
“When it comes to getting in shape, what’s good for
you is good for your whole family,” said NHLBI’s Karen
A. Donato, S.M., R.D., program coordinator of both We Can! (Ways
to Enhance Children’s Activity and Nutrition), NIH's
national education program to prevent childhood obesity, and the
NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative. “To maintain health, all
adults should be moderately active for at least 30 minutes per day
on most days of the week. To help manage body weight and prevent
unhealthy weight gain, at least 60 minutes per day is recommended.
Children and adolescents also need to be active for at least 60
minutes per day. So pry the kids off the couch and help yourself
stay fit as well by doing enjoyable activities together.”
There are many ways people can incorporate physical activity into
everyday life such as:
- Use the stairs—both up and down—instead of the
elevator. Start with one flight of stairs and gradually build
up to more.
- Park a few blocks from the office or store and walk the rest
of the way. If you take public transportation, get off a stop
or two early and walk a few blocks.
- While working, take frequent activity breaks. Get up and stretch,
walk around, and give your muscles and mind a change of pace.
- Instead of eating that extra snack, take a brisk stroll around
the neighborhood or your office building.
- Do housework, gardening, or yard work at a more vigorous pace.
- When you travel, walk around the train station, bus station,
or airport rather than sitting and waiting.
In addition to providing information on protecting your heart,
the guide also addresses the many other benefits of regular physical
activity like burning extra calories, building stamina, improving
balance, strengthening your lungs, and boosting the way you feel.
It deals with the myths and motivational barriers associated with
physical activity, while providing practical advice and suggestions
for getting the most health benefits from a physical activity program.
The new guide is the latest in the NHLBI Your Guide to Better
Health series. The series provides easy-to-read science-based
health information and features compelling testimonials from people
about their real-life experiences with improving their health. Other
Guides include Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure
With DASH; Your Guide to a Healthy Heart; Your Guide to
Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC; Your Guide to Living
Well With Heart Disease; and Your Guide to Healthy Sleep.
The guides can be downloaded for free from the Web page, Your
Guide to Physical Activity and Your Heart (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/phy_active.htm),
or can be ordered through the NHLBI Information Center, (301) 301-592-8573
or 240-629-3255 (TTY) or online at http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/yourguide/.
For more information:
http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov
http://healthyweight.nhlbi.nih.gov
Dietary
Guidelines for Americans 2005 and A Healthier You
(http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines/)
www.mypyramid.gov
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports
research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders.
The Institute also administers national health education campaigns
on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other
topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online
at: www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers
and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical, and translational medical research, and it investigates
the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.
For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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