Physical Activity

Cardiac arrest is about three times greater in men than in women. However, women have lower recovery and survival rates than men. Kim, C., et al., Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in men and women. Circulation, 2001. 104(22): p. 2699-703.

62% of American women are overweight.

(CDC, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/women/htm)

Risk factors that put people at increased risk for cardio vascular disease include increasing age, biological sex, race, tobacco smoke, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, being overweight or obese, and diabetes. (Association, A.H., Women, Heart Disease and Stroke. 2003).

A 10-year study of more than 2,000 girls demonstrated that physical activity declined dramatically during adolescence especially for African-Americans. By the time these girls were 16 or 17, 56% of the black girls were essentially inactive out of school representing a 100% decline from the baseline activity level established when they were 9 or 10 years old. (New England Journal of Medicine, 2002)

The physical, emotional, and social benefits of physical activity are plentiful. Regular physical activity in adolescence can reduce girl’s risk for obesity and help them build greater peak bone mass. It is also an effective tool for reducing the symptoms of stress and depression. (President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 1997)

Researchers, reporting in the January issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, said their findings put exercise on par with drugs and therapy examined in earlier studies when treating depression among adults age 20 to 45.

(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_22591.html)