The survey was put together using 4,000 people in the “midlife”
age bracket, and it showed that even those who counted gardening
or a brisk walk towards their required two and a half hours
exercise every week saw improvements in heart health. Even those
in the ten year study who only started regular exercise in their
40s saw signs of improvement. It was published in medical
journal Circulation, going into more specific detail. The
research showed that those claiming the recommended exercise had
fewer inflammatory markers in their blood, a factor linked to
the increased risk of heart diease. Dr Mark Hamer of University
College London led the research and he said, "We should be
encouraging more people to get active - for example, walking
instead of taking the bus. You can gain health benefits from
moderate activity at any time in your life." At present, the
government’s guidelines on exercise suggest that under-fives
should be getting around three hours of exercise a day, five-
to-18-year-olds at least an hour o