Methods—reviewComparison of Cardioprotective Benefits of Vigorous Versus Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise
Section snippets
Methods
Epidemiologic studies and clinical trials were examined. For the former, only those that controlled for EE, or that found a relation between 1 intensity level and the study end points (incidence of CHD or development of CHD risk factors) but not for other intensity levels, were included. For clinical trials, only those that controlled for EE were included. A meta-analysis of the data was not feasible, because the number of studies that examined any 1 end point (such as blood pressure or insulin
Epidemiologic studies
Table 1, Table 2 list the epidemiologic studies of exercise intensity and incidence of CHD, or risk factors for CHD, respectively. In such studies, the determination of exercise intensity was imprecise. Subjects reported their physical activity, and investigators designated activities as “moderate” or “vigorous,” or assigned an intensity on the basis of estimated multiples of metabolism at rest (METs; 1 MET = 3.5 ml · min−1 · kg−1). However, the actual intensity of a given activity can vary
Discussion
Although many studies have evaluated the cardioprotective benefits of exercise, relatively few have compared different intensities while controlling EE. Although additional studies are warranted, a consistent picture has emerged. Several epidemiologic studies found benefits for accumulated EE performed at a vigorous intensity but not at a moderate intensity.6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 17 The epidemiologic studies that specifically controlled EE all found greater benefits at higher intensities.8, 10, 15
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