And the evidence gets stronger. A new study of 13,535 women finds that women who regularly walked for exercise in their 50s were much healthier in their 70s and beyond.
"This is the big picture," says epidemiologist Francine Grodstein of the Brigham and Women's Hospital. "This wasn't just looking at who had a heart attack." The researchers looked to see whether women had developed chronic conditions, including diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson's disease and pulmonary disease. They also looked at cognitive function.
What they found might be surprising, given the level of exercise involved. The brisk walkers — who moved at a clip of about 3 mph — were 90 percent more likely to be free of all these conditions when compared with women who weren't in the habit of walking beyond a leisurely pace.
in the audio story, the woman implies that this research shows that even brisk walking is beneficial.
THIS DOES NOT FOLLOW.
alternative hypothesis: some women lead a healthy lifestyle in general. these women walk briskly but also engage in other healthy activities. the brisk walking has no effect on health, while some of the other healthy activities do have a positive effect on health.
