The intensity of exercise is more important than the duration for warding off metabolic syndrome, new research suggests.
Scientists at Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, studied a group of more than 10,000 men and women, aged 21 to 98 years, over a ten-year period.
They found that low levels of leisure-time physical activity and a slow walking speed were associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome.
Regular joggers were less likely to have metabolic syndrome than people who did not run.
However, large amounts of walking did not appear to reduce a person's risk of metabolic syndrome, with the intensity of exercise being more important than its duration.
Publishing their findings in the journal BMJ Open, the study authors concluded: 'Our results confirm the role of physical activity in reducing metabolic syndrome risk and suggest that intensity more than volume of physical activity is important.'
Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, commented that activities that leave people feeling warm or breathing more heavily than usual 'are good for our health'.