A study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago finds that a weight training program can produce significantly better cardiovascular health among young African American men. Similar benefits were not found for young White men in the study.
The researchers measured blood markers associated with inflammation, immune response, and the remodeling of arteries after tissue damage, infection, or other types of stress. After six weeks of weight training, the researchers observed significantly lower levels of two of these three markers in African American men but no change among White men in the study.
Marc Cook, a doctoral students at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a coauthor of the study, stated, “If you don’t like cardiovascular exercise, if you don’t like running on a treadmill, if you can’t play basketball or you’re not good at it, you can lift weights and improve your health.”
The study was published in the Journal of Human Hypertension. The article can be accessed here.
