Physical Activity as Part of a Heart Healthy Lifestyle

Physical activity is one part of a heart healthy lifestyle. In addition to physical activity, a healthy lifestyle involves staying at a healthy weight, following a healthy diet, and not smoking.

Stay at a Healthy Weight

Being overweight or obese increases your risk for heart disease, even if you have no other risk factors. Overweight or obesity also raises your risk for other diseases that play a role in heart disease, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Your weight is the result of a balance between energy IN and energy OUT. Energy IN is the energy, or calories, you take in from food. Energy OUT is the energy you use for things like breathing, digestion, and physical activity.

If you have:

• The same amount of energy IN and energy OUT over time, your weight stays the same
• More energy IN than energy OUT over time, you will gain weight
• More energy OUT than energy IN over time, you will lose weight

To maintain a healthy weight, your energy IN and energy OUT should balance each other. They don't have to be the same every day; it's the balance over time that's important.

It's possible to balance energy IN and energy OUT with diet or physical activity alone. However, research shows that doing physical activity and following a healthy diet is a better way to reach and stay at a healthy weight.

People who want to lose more than 5 percent of their body weight and those who are trying to keep a lot of weight off once it has been lost need a large amount of physical activity unless they also reduce their calorie intake.

Many people need to do more than 300 minutes (5 hours) of moderate-intensity activity a week to meet their weight control goals.

Follow a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is an important part of a heart healthy lifestyle. Choose a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains; half of your grains should come from whole-grain products.

Choose foods that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Healthy choices include lean meats, poultry without skin, fish, beans, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.

Choose and prepare foods with little sodium (salt). Too much salt can raise your risk for high blood pressure. Recent studies show that following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan can lower blood pressure.

Choose foods and beverages that are low in added sugar. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

For more information about following a healthy diet, see the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Aim for a Healthy Weight Web site, "Your Guide to a Healthy Heart," and "Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure With DASH." All of these resources provide general information about healthy eating.

Don't Smoke

People who smoke are up to six times more likely to have a heart attack than people who don't smoke. The risk for heart attack increases with the number of cigarettes smoked each day.

Smoking also raises your risk for stroke and lung diseases, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and lung cancer.

If you quit smoking, you can greatly reduce your risk for heart and lung diseases. Talk to your doctor about programs and products that can help you quit. Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke.