Overall , the current literature supports clearly the dose-response relationship between physical activity and the seven chronic conditions identified .
Moreover , higher levels of physical activity reduce the risk for premature all-cause mortality .
The current Canadian guidelines appear to be appropriate to reduce the risk for the seven chronic conditions identified above and all-cause mortality
This systematic review examines critically the scientific basis for Canada 's Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Active Living for adults .
Particular reference is given to the dose-response relationship between physical activity and premature all-cause mortality and seven chronic diseases ( cardiovascular disease , stroke , hypertension , colon cancer , breast cancer , type 2 diabetes ( diabetes mellitus ) and osteoporosis ) .
The strength of the relationship between physical activity and specific health outcomes is evaluated critically .
Combined Work and Leisure Physical Activity and Risk of Stroke in Men and Women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk Prospective Population Study
Most studies to date support a protective role of physical activity in reducing stroke risk . However , they were not able to take into account combined work and leisure activity . We prospect ively followed up 22,602 men and women aged 40–79 years , who had no history of stroke and myocardial infa rct ion at baseline , participating in the European Prospect i ve Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk . Participants were categorized into four levels of physical activity based on a vali date d self-reported question naire , which assesses combined work and leisure activities , at baseline during the period from 1993 to 1997 . Stroke incidence was ascertained by death certificate and hospital record linkage data up to 2004 , average 8.6 years of follow-up . We used the Cox proportional hazards model . There were 361 incident strokes during follow-up ( total person years = 195,092 ) . After adjusting for age , sex , systolic blood pressure , body mass index , cholesterol , history of diabetes and smoking , men and women who were physically active were less likely to have a stroke ( relative risk = 0.70 , 95 % CI : 0.49–0.99 , p = 0.024 ) compared to those who were inactive . This highlights the fact that efforts to increase physical activity  in both the work place and in leisure time should be encouraged
Overall , the current literature supports clearly the dose-response relationship between physical activity and the seven chronic conditions identified .
Moreover , higher levels of physical activity reduce the risk for premature all-cause mortality .
The current Canadian guidelines appear to be appropriate to reduce the risk for the seven chronic conditions identified above and all-cause mortality
This systematic review examines critically the scientific basis for Canada 's Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Active Living for adults .
Particular reference is given to the dose-response relationship between physical activity and premature all-cause mortality and seven chronic diseases ( cardiovascular disease , stroke , hypertension , colon cancer , breast cancer , type 2 diabetes ( diabetes mellitus ) and osteoporosis ) .
The strength of the relationship between physical activity and specific health outcomes is evaluated critically .