We've all heard of pushing your luck, but have you heard about pushing your health?
That's what you might consider after a new health study found a decreased risk of heart disease in active men with an increased ability to do push-ups.
The medical online journal JAMA Network Open found a "significant negative association" between "baseline push-up capacity" and "incident cardiovascular risk."
In other words, men who were able to do more than 40 push-ups had a significant reduction of cardiovascular disease risk than men who were able to complete fewer than 10.
"Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death worldwide," the authors of the study said. "In addition to long-recognized risk factors for CVD, such as smoking, hypertension, and diabetes, the unfavorable health consequences of physical inactivity on cardiovascular health have been well established."
The study looked at push-ups as a "no cost, fast, and simple measure" to evaluate "functional capacity" of a man's cardiovascular health.
Some 1,562 participants participated in the study from 10 Indiana fire departments between Jan. 1, 2000, and Dec. 31, 2010. Research participants were placed in five groups based on ability and number of push-ups completed over a 10-year span.
Incidences of coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular issues were taken into account amongst the group while adjusting for age and body mass index.
"Participants able to complete more than 40 push-ups had a 96 percent reduction in incident CVD events compared with those completing fewer than 10 push-ups," the authors of the study said.
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