Can you take it easy on diet and exercise if you are on ‘protective’ medications?

Medications for high blood pressure and cholesterol (statins) reduce the risk of heart attack and strokes. So, if you are taking them, can you become a little lax about healthy habits like regular physical activity and a prudent diet? In other words, are drugs a substitute for healthy behaviors?

Recently The Finnish Public Sector Study which included more than 41,000 participants aged 40 and older in Finland, and followed up for 14 years for their lifestyle behaviors, was reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

They found that among those who took medications for hypertension or elevated cholesterol, there was a tendency toward less favorable lifestyle practices. For example, there were greater instances of people  becoming physically inactive or reducing physical activity level, gaining weight and developing obesity during follow-up

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The perception seemed that the medications were perhaps a ‘substitute’ for healthy lifestyle practices as opposed to a ‘complement’ to lifestyle.

However, the fact is that there are many benefits to be achieved from being regularly physically active and following a heart-healthy diet, such as reducing the risk for conditions like diabetes, cancer, osteoporotic fracture and several others.

Hence, even if you are on protective medications, don’t be lax about physical activity and proper diet.