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A little exercise can go a long way, studies show SACRAMENTO, Calif. (February 3, 1999 12:16 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Too busy to join a gym? Hate the idea of working up a drenching sweat on a Stairmaster? Turned off by grunts from the bench press and attitude from gym rats? Not to worry. Researchers have documented that you can improve health and fitness almost as effectively by making small changes in your lifestyle to moderately increase physical activity as you can by following a vigorous exercise program. Two studies published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association points to such a conclusion "We want people to expand their thinking about becoming physically active," said one of the researchers at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas. "A of lot of us like vigorous physical activity and exerting ourselves, but a substantial portion don't care for that sort of thing." In one study, researchers assigned 235 previously sedentary, overweight men and women ages 35 to 60 into two groups. The men and women didn't change their eating habits, but half - the "lifestyle" group - incorporated into their daily activities 30 minutes of moderately intense activity, such as brisk walking. They also met weekly in small groups and got individualized suggestions to fit activity in routines, like walking around airports instead of sitting waiting for a plane, or walking around the soccer field at their children's games. The structured-exercise group was monitored at the Cooper fitness center, where they could choose step aerobics, spinning, kickboxing, swimming, stair climbing or treadmill. The goal was to achieve 50 percent to 85 percent maximal aerobic power for 20 to 60 minutes. After two years, neither group had gained or lost weight - probably because diets weren't altered - but both lost about comparable amounts of body fat and burned calories about the same rate. Similarly, both groups significantly decreased blood pressure and improved cardiorespiratory fitness. "The study shows that physical activity doesn't require a fitness center and high-intensity workouts," said Dr. Andrea Dunn, associate director of epidemiology and clinic applications at the Cooper Institute. "One really important thing to understand about this study is the maintenance part," she said. "We taught them to set small goals, to ask themselves, 'Can I reduce the amount of time I spend sitting?' 'Where can I fit in a two-minute walk?' ... Can I find friends to walk with me at lunch time?' " In the second study, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 40 obese women ages 21 to 60 were placed either in a step aerobic class three days a week or in a moderate activity group that walked five or six days a week. Both were placed on low-fat diets, about 1,200 calories a day. Researchers found that people in both groups enjoyed comparable health benefits: reduced weight, decreased total cholesterol and blood pressure, improved physical fitness and dramatically improved mood. "We have been brainwashed to think that exercise only counts if it's vigorous, sweaty, uninterrupted activity," said Dr. Ross E. Andersen, assistant professor of medicine. "We know that to optimize aerobic fitness you need to exercise vigorously several times a week in an uninterrupted way. However, we can improve health and gets the benefits associated with a lot of fitness programs by accumulating 30 minutes of moderate activity a day." Walking is the easiest activity, but there are other opportunities, too - climbing stairs rather than taking an elevator and pushing a lawn mower instead of riding one, Anderson said. At the end of 16 weeks of monitored treatment, the least active participants regained weight and the most active lost another 4 pounds. Those who remained active, accumulating 30 minutes or more of moderately intensive exercise most days, maintained their weight. "It's important to understand that moderate physical activity counts," Anderson said. "It's probably not the best way to exercise, but it's an option, and for people doing nothing or exercising sporadically, it's a weapon to increase fitness and manage weight." Dr. Mary Haan, director of the Center for Aging and Health at the University of California at Davis, agreed. "Our research shows that there is a stronger benefit in exercising in terms of maintaining a healthy weight, as opposed to dieting. People who exercise even moderately have lower body fat overall than people who don't," said Haan. The take-home message from the JAMA studies is that integrating exercise in your daily life is effective and easy, Haan said. "Walking to work or to the store or taking the stairs are convenient ways to fit exercise in your life. It produces a lots of benefits. And it feels good." By KATHRYN DORE PERKINS Kathryn Dore Perkins is a reporter for the Sacramento Bee in California. Copyright 1999 Nando Media Copyright 1999 Scripps McClatchy Western Service http://www.nandotimes.com/noframes/story/0,2107,14236-23847-170987-0,00.html janet paterson - 51 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm [log in to unmask]