HHS HealthBeat (August 21, 2012)

Actively controlling inflammation

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

Physical activity seems to rein in proteins that indicate inflammation, which is good, because sustained higher levels of those proteins indicate a higher risk of heart disease. And a study finds that people who exercised regularly had lower levels of the blood markers C-reactive protein and interleukin-6. 

At University College London, Mark Hamer saw that in 10 years of data on almost 4,300 people.

“Those people that were consistently active across the 10 years demonstrated lower levels of inflammatory markers.”

Hamer says consistent moderate to vigorous activity – enough to leave you slightly sweaty – was enough. 

The study in the journal Circulation was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

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

Last revised: August 21, 2012