Walking wards off stroke for women

LONDON: Women who devote at least three hours to walking every week are more likely to ward off strokes than their inactive cousins, says a study.

"The message for the general population remains similar: regularly engaging in moderate recreational activity is good for your health," said Jose Maria Huerta of the Murcia Regional Health Authority in Spain, who led the study.

Women walking briskly for 210 minutes or more per week had a lower stroke risk than inactive women but also lower than those who cycled and did other higher-intensity workouts for a shorter amount of time, the journal Stroke reported.

Nearly 33,000 men and women answered a physical activity questionnaire given once in the mid-1990s as part of a larger European cancer project.

Huerta and his team divided participants by gender, exercise type and total time spent exercising each week, according to the Daily Mail.

During the 12-year follow-up period, a total of 442 strokes occurred among the men and women.

The results for women who were regular walkers translated to a 43 per cent reduction in stroke risk compared to the inactive group, Huerta said.