When it comes to exercise for heart health, you don’t want to peak too early in life. Recent research suggests that if you want to protect yourself from age-related hypertension, you need to play the long game and maintain your physical activity levels into middle age.
But social factors can make this more difficult for some people than others, according to a study of more than 5,000 people in four U.S. cities.
“Teenagers and young people in their early 20s may be physically active, but their patterns change with age,” said study author Kirsten, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Bivins Domingo says. explained In April 2021, this study American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
While many studies have shown that exercise lowers blood pressure, the new study found that to prevent high blood pressure, “maintaining physical activity at a higher level than previously recommended in early life is especially important.” “This suggests that it may be important,” Bivins-Domingo said. said.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a serious condition that affects billions of people worldwide. It can cause heart attack or stroke. It is also a risk factor for developing dementia later in life.
More than 1 in 4 men and about 1 in 5 women suffer from high blood pressure. According to the World Health Organization. However, most people with high blood pressure are not aware that they have high blood pressure. That’s why high blood pressure is often called a “silent killer.”
However, there are ways to improve high blood pressure. This study focuses on exercise.
The study involved more than 5,100 adults and tracked their health over 30 years through physical assessments and questionnaires about exercise habits, smoking status, and alcohol intake.
At each clinical assessment, blood pressure was measured three times at 1-minute intervals, and participants were divided into four categories by race and gender for data analysis.
Overall, physical activity levels decreased from ages 18 to 40 for men, women, and both racial groups. Over the next few decades, hypertension rates rose and physical activity declined.
According to the researchers, this suggests that young adulthood is an important window for interventions to prevent midlife hypertension through health promotion programs designed to promote physical activity. It is said that there is
“Nearly half of the participants in young adulthood had suboptimal physical activity levels, which were significantly associated with the development of hypertension, highlighting the need to raise minimum standards for physical activity. It shows.” said Lead author Jason Nagata is a young adult health specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Researchers looked at people who did 5 hours of moderate exercise per week during early adulthood (twice the minimum amount currently recommended for adults) and found that this level of activity significantly increased the risk of high blood pressure. It was found that this decrease was particularly noticeable when exercise was continued. Habits until age 60.
“Achieve at least twice the current minimum adult level.” [physical activity] “These guidelines may be more beneficial in preventing hypertension than simply meeting minimal guidelines,” the researchers said. I wrote In their paper.
But amidst life-changing decisions and increased responsibilities, increasing your weekly physical activity can be a challenge.
“This may be especially true after high school, when opportunities for physical activity decrease and leisure time erodes as young people transition to college, the workforce, and parenthood.” said Mr. Nagata.
In another sobering truth, the study also showed that black men and women have markedly different health trajectories compared to white women. At age 40, physical activity levels for white men and women plateaued, but activity levels continued to decline for black participants.
By age 45, black women’s hypertension rates exceeded those of white men, but white women in the study experienced the lowest rates of hypertension throughout midlife.
By age 60, 80% to 90% of black men and women had high blood pressure, compared with just under 70% of white men and about half of white women.
The research team attributed these well-known racial disparities to a variety of social and economic factors. Although high school education was mentioned, these factors were not assessed in this study.
“Black male youth may be enthusiastic about sports, but socio-economic factors, neighborhood environment, work and family responsibilities, etc. may prevent them from continuing physical activity into adulthood. “Yes,” Nagata said. said.
This study American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
A previous version of this article was published in April 2021.
