Largest, long-term study of physical fitness change in U.S. investigates
fitness trends in Caucasian and African American men and women
OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Physical fitness and activity
levels decline substantially as we reach middle age, resulting in increased
weight gain and increased risk of heart disease. Those are the findings of
the largest, long-term study of physical fitness change, presented by the
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research today at the American Heart
Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
and Prevention in Orlando, Fla.
The study included a large number of participants from two groups for
which virtually no information on long-term physical activity change was
available -- women and African Americans. The study followed 2,289 men and
women, ages 18 to 30, over a 20-year period at four research sites across
the U.S., including the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland,
Calif.
Study participants, comprised of both Caucasians and African Americans,
saw their physical fitness levels decline by an average 28 percent, their
weight increase by an average 20 percent, and their self-reported physical
activity drop by an average 18 percent over a 20 year-period (1985-86 to
2005-06).
"While aging is something we have no control over, most of us do have
the ability to control how physically active we remain as we get older,"
said Stephen Sidney, MD, MPH, the study's principal investigator and
Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Kaiser Permanente Division
of Research. "This study shows the importance of staying physically active
throughout our lives and how we can better influence our fitness levels,
and consequently, better manage our weight."
Fitness level declines in study participants were inversely associated
with weight gains, and directly associated with changes in physical
activity scores. "We know that low physical fitness levels put people at
greater risk of cardiovascular disease and related deaths," said Dr.
Sidney. "Staying physically active is also a great way to stave off
obesity."
In the past 30 years, the prevalence of obesity among adults ages 20 to
74 has increased from 15 percent to nearly 33 percent, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cardiorespiratory fitness in study participants was assessed by the
amount of time they could exercise on a treadmill test. Physical activity
was based on a self-administered survey covering 13 types of activities
over a one-year timeframe. The American Heart Association recommends that
all adults strive to get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity
each day.
These research findings come from the Coronary Artery Risk Development
in Young Adults (CARDIA) Fitness Study, funded by a grant from the National
Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHBLI), in conjunction with the CARDIA
study, a 20- year observational study also funded by the NHLBI and
conducted at four research centers across the U.S.
The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes, and
disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the
health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and the society at
large. It seeks to understand the determinants of illness and well being
and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care.
Currently, the center's 400-plus staff is working on more than 250
epidemiological and health services research projects.
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded
in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with
headquarters in Oakland, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health
care needs of 8.6 million members in 9 states and the District of Columbia.
Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.,
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit
Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes
approximately 145,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and
caregivers, and more than 13,000 physicians representing all specialties.
http://www.kaiserpermanente.org
SOURCE Kaiser Permanente
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Related links:
http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/
CONTACT:
Jeff Hausman of Kaiser Permanente Northern
California News Bureau, +1-916-614-4525, or jeff.hausman@kp.org
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