Could Exercise be Bad For Your Health?
By: Jen Mueller,
SparkPeople Blogger
6/19/2012 6:00 AM
: 45 comments
: 14,640 Views
It seems that the crazier a headline sounds, the more likely people are to click on it. Even though I knew a recent story couldn’t possibly be what it seemed, I had to check it out for myself. “Exercise Could Hurt Heart Health”, “Exercise May Be Bad for Some” and “Is Exercise Bad for You? A New Study Says Yes!” were just some of the titles about a recent study that caught my attention. Could everything I’ve learned through school, work experience, professional certifications and personal experience really be wrong? After review, I don’t think there is cause for alarm just yet.
A recent survey of six exercise studies (involving 1,687 adults) was published in the journal PLoS One. These studies measured blood pressure, fasting insulin, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, all of which are markers for heart disease. Eight to 10 percent of study participants who exercised regularly had some negative affect on one of these four markers. They aren’t sure why, but researchers suspect physical activity as the cause. One of the researchers noted that “even if someone had an adverse response in one of the parameters, they could take medicine to correct it and continue exercising. For example, if somebody exercises to bring his or her cholesterol level down but it increases blood pressure, then he or she would take blood pressure medicine and maintain their exercise.”
Although a small percentage had negative outcomes, an equal number were considered to be “super responders”, meaning exercise produced better than anticipated results. Participant’s activity levels varied from moderate to vigorous. Researchers hope further studies will help physicians predict the effect exercise will have on patients, so that they can tailor physical activity recommendations to each individual.
The survey’s authors say that further investigation is needed to determine the biological reason for any negative effects of a regular exercise program. They are also quick to mention that the benefits of regular physical activity still far outweigh any risks for the majority of the population. So it looks like your doctor isn’t going to recommend you become a couch potato anytime soon.
Find out more about how Small Bits of Fitness Add Up and the Heart-Healthy Benefits of Exercise.
What do you think? Do sensational headlines like this cause confusion and/or panic more than anything else? Or could there be something to them?
A recent survey of six exercise studies (involving 1,687 adults) was published in the journal PLoS One. These studies measured blood pressure, fasting insulin, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, all of which are markers for heart disease. Eight to 10 percent of study participants who exercised regularly had some negative affect on one of these four markers. They aren’t sure why, but researchers suspect physical activity as the cause. One of the researchers noted that “even if someone had an adverse response in one of the parameters, they could take medicine to correct it and continue exercising. For example, if somebody exercises to bring his or her cholesterol level down but it increases blood pressure, then he or she would take blood pressure medicine and maintain their exercise.”
Although a small percentage had negative outcomes, an equal number were considered to be “super responders”, meaning exercise produced better than anticipated results. Participant’s activity levels varied from moderate to vigorous. Researchers hope further studies will help physicians predict the effect exercise will have on patients, so that they can tailor physical activity recommendations to each individual.
The survey’s authors say that further investigation is needed to determine the biological reason for any negative effects of a regular exercise program. They are also quick to mention that the benefits of regular physical activity still far outweigh any risks for the majority of the population. So it looks like your doctor isn’t going to recommend you become a couch potato anytime soon.
Find out more about how Small Bits of Fitness Add Up and the Heart-Healthy Benefits of Exercise.
What do you think? Do sensational headlines like this cause confusion and/or panic more than anything else? Or could there be something to them?
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Comments
And having a yearly check-up is recommended as well, especially if you're older. - 6/21/2012 6:45:30 AM
so exercise is not bad for you, it's just conspireing men wanting to scare us.
i am not paying attention to it. - 6/20/2012 5:59:34 PM
- 6/20/2012 10:32:01 AM
1. This is a review of several very different studies, all done on different populations with different methods. Don't ask how "the study" was done, because they were all done differently. Combining them may be hazardous to your accuracy.
2. The parameters measured are not precisely measurable. They vary from day to day, hour to hour, often minute to minute. It's not clear that this measurement inaccuracy was fully accounted for in the statistical analysis.
3. The study did not measure outcomes, like incidence of heart attack. It measured factors that only loosely predict outcomes. If one risk factor gets worse in one individual, it does not clearly predict that this individual is more likely to get a heart attack or other adverse event.
4. There was no effort to find out whether, when an individual had a worsening of one risk factor, the same individual had an improvement in other risk factors that might compensate. I mean: if your HDL gets worse, but your blood pressure gets better, is that good or bad?
Bottom line: this is an investigation into details that may be irrelevant to your health. Studies that look at actual outcomes (whether the subjects are still alive and healthy several years later) tell you that for most people, exercise is beneficial. Your mileage may vary but there is no good way to predict that. Your best bet is to get off your butt and work out. - 6/20/2012 7:28:24 AM
I have to say it does annoy me when people give me scathing looks when I exercise because I have a lot of medical issues and it makes my efforts look like I'm not trying. Just because I walked 2 miles an hour doesn't mean I wasn't WORKING just as hard as you! (and I'm short so I have a very short stride.) Right now I keep getting messages on my page that are inspirational about getting out and exercising in the fresh air and sun!! I can't be in the sun due to medication and I can't exercise because I JUST had an ACDF. I love people's support, but I wish they would be a bit less critical of people who aren't doing what THEY think they should be. - 6/19/2012 8:51:33 PM
How soon after exercising were the measurements made? Were measurements made directly after exercising and again at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hour intervals?
What was the general health of the individuals? Did it stay the same during the entire study? I doubt it. I have nearly 10 years of weekly BP readings and I can tell you when I had a cold, allergies, or when I was well just by looking at those numbers.
The headlines are misleading (in fact most are). They are designed to get you to read the article and get additional funding. The excerpts from the article doesn't really tell us anything new. The part that perturbed me the most was the idea of taking medication to counteract the effects of the study. Ummm, maybe we should find out why the exercise caused the high blood pressure first. Was the exerciser overdoing it for his/her physical condition or was the exerciser doing the exercise improperly or was the exerciser coming down with a cold or suffering from allergies? - 6/19/2012 3:35:47 PM
The only time exercise is bad for you is when you are injured or suffered from something serious (i.e. heart attack)- which most of us do not have. Most of the time it's just a waiting game but eventually it WILL be time for you to move.
At the moment, I am suffering from a torn calf that prevents me from walking too much. It is horribly debilitating and I miss exercise so much! I recently re-injured it from just spinning around in my kitchen cooking, so I know now that I just can't do much of anything. (I am also sporting a very sexy limp when I walk. Yes, be jealous - ha!) While that is my excuse for NOW, I am counting down to the days when I CAN exercise. - 6/19/2012 2:37:43 PM
Enough said! - 6/19/2012 1:24:06 PM
In this case "researchers suspect" and "in 8 to 10 percent of cases" ... somehow becomes a headline that implies it is exercise for everyone (100%) and a verified result. - 6/19/2012 12:33:12 PM
I suspected the reason so many people were getting injured was because they were pushing their bodies to do things their bodies weren't ready to do. Thus the increase in injuries.
However, I find these new findings unusual. Hundreds of previous studies over the years have shown that a regular exercise program can DECREASE blood pressure, blood sugar, tris, cholesterol, etc... So, something about that research isn't right given the results of older long term studies.
So, the people who were being tested, what were they being tested for ? Were any of them smokers ? Were any of them overweight or obese ? How many people were elderly ? What were they eating ?
There are many factors we don't know which would skew the data.
- 6/19/2012 9:12:41 AM
I run 30 plus miles per week, strength train 3 times a week and still have to take an anti-hypertensive. Leave it up to choosing the wrong parents, but I would never give up running. And yes, I do believe it gives people an excuse to NOT exercise. - 6/19/2012 8:13:48 AM
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