Physically active women reduce risk of stroke

A Harvard study followed 72,488 nurses for eight years and concluded that the more a woman exercises, the lower the odds she will suffer a stroke. Two large Harvard studies of men also show that exercise reduces their chances of getting strokes. However, the more-is-better association has not yet been proven for men as it has now been done for women. "Previous research demonstrated that increased exercise may substantially reduce a person's risk of heart disease, but the role of exercise in the prevention of stoke has been less well studied and not very conclusive," said Frank Hu, assistant professor of nutrition and cardiovascular disease at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Another important finding of our study is that sedentary women who become active in middle and later adulthood have lower stroke risk than those who remain sedentary," Hu added. "This implies a relatively prompt effect of physical activity. Older people can enjoy the benefit of exercise even if they were sedentary for a long time."