LITTLE FALLS, N.J., May 13 -- Exercise regimens that burn more calories over less-intense periods of exercise can increase weight loss and reduce cardiovascular risk factors better than standard cardiac rehabilitation programs, researchers have found.
Action Points Explain that walking more at a slower pace improved weight loss and cardiac risk factors better than standard cardiac rehabilitation programs.Note that current cardiac rehabilitation guidelines were written when deconditioning after lengthy hospital stays was common, which is no longer the case.
In a randomized trial, overweight patients who exercised more but with less intensity lost twice as much weight as those on typical cardiac rehab regimens and had greater reductions in markers of metabolic syndrome, according to Philip A. Ades, M.D., of the University of Vermont, and colleagues.
"High-calorie-expenditure exercise is superior to standard cardiac rehabilitation exercise in accomplishing weight loss and favorably altering cardiometabolic risk factors, particularly insulin resistance, in overweight patients with coronary heart disease," the researchers reported online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Matti Narkia on 15 Apr 09Scientists in Canada reviewing the research so far on links between different diets and heart disease found strong evidence that diets high in vegetables and nuts, and those that follow a Mediterranean pattern rich in fruit, vegetables and fish were strongly associated with lower heart disease risk than those that rely on food with a high glycemic index or high in trans-fatty acids. High glycemic index food includes rice, pasta and refined carbohydrates like white bread, and foods high in trans-fatty acids include fried foods, baked goods and snacks.
