Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Finally some good news for smokers...who exercise.

Worldwide, over six million people die each year from tobacco related illnesses according to the Center for Disease Control.  That figure is expected to jump to 8 million people annually by the year 2030.

On average smokers die ten years earlier than non-smokers according to the article 21st-Century Hazards of Smoking and Benefits of Cessation in the United States published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

So what's the good news?

A study out of the University of Texas Science Center found that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with reduced metabolic syndrome risk among smokers.

Metabolic syndrome is when you have three of the following five things: 1) abdominal obesity; 2) elevated blood pressure; 3) elevated fasting glucose; 4) high serum triglycerides; and 5) low high-density cholesterol levels. The presence of metabolic syndrome is known to increase the risk for cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The study found that the risk for metabolic syndrome was reduced for smokers who were either highly fit (risk reduced 48 percent) or moderately fit (risk reduced 27 percent) compared to those in the low fitness category.

In addition, moderate and high fitness participants were found to have reduced their risk for the development of elevated fasting blood glucose.   

Want some more good news?

The New England Journal of Medicine mentioned above concludes that if you quit before the age of 40 it reduces your "risk of death associated with continued smoking by about 90%."


Quote:                                                                                                      

"Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times." - Mark Twain

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