'I Would Rather Have Everyone Exercise. But You Can’t Ignore the Data.'

A new study shows that for some people, exercise may increase your heart risk:

Could exercise actually be bad for some healthy people? A well-known group of researchers, including one who helped write the scientific paper justifying national guidelines that promote exercise for all, say the answer may be a qualified yes.

By analyzing data from six rigorous exercise studies involving 1,687 people, the group found that about 10 percent actually got worse on at least one of the measures related to heart disease:blood pressure and levels of insulin, HDL cholesterolortriglycerides. About 7 percent got worse on at least two measures. And the researchers say they do not know why….

Dr. Kraus said researchers needed to figure out how to tailor exercise prescriptions to individual needs.

Just like with diet, I have always wondered why people always think more exercise is better. People respond differently to different interventions. Some exercise is good for some people and some diets are good for some people but there are those of us for whom too much exercise and dieting is not such a good thing.