WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A study, conducted on over 5,000 people from four cities in the U.S., suggested that exercise is not only beneficial for heart health but it could also keep a tab on high blood pressure.
'Teenagers and those in their early 20s may be physically active but these patterns change with age,' said study author and epidemiologist Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo from the University of California, San Francisco.
Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the research found that maintaining physical activity during youth is particularly helpful in preventing hypertension in later years.
During the study, health of over 5,100 adults were tracked over three decades, which included physical assessments, and questionnaires regarding their alcohol intake, smoking as well as eating habits.
'Nearly half of our participants in young adulthood had suboptimal levels of physical activity, which was significantly associated with the onset of hypertension, indicating that we need to raise the minimum standard for physical activity,' said lead author Jason Nagata, a UCSF expert in young adult medicine.
The researchers further noted that participants who had followed regular exercise for five hours a week had lower chances of onset of hypertension than those who did not.
Additionally, the study disclosed that Black participants experienced hypertension higher than White participants due to the decline in their physical activity during adulthood. Notably, White women had the lowest rates of hypertension among the participants.
'Although Black male youth may have high engagement in sports, socioeconomic factors, neighborhood environments, and work or family responsibilities may prevent continued engagement in physical activity through adulthood,' Nagata noted.
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