Daily HealthBeat Tip

Your genes and your fitness

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A gene may have a lot to do with how much benefit people who are 70 and older get from exercise. A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at the gene, which controls an enzyme related to heart strength and blood pressure.

Researcher Stephen Kritchevsky of Wake Forest University School of Medicine says the study may explain why some older people get more from exercise than others.

But Kritchevsky says even if you aren't blessed with the best genes, you can still benefit.

"I know some people get frustrated when they start an exercise program and don't see much benefit. It might be that the program has to be tailored to the individual so that the benefits can be fully realized." (12 seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: October 11, 2005

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