Physical inactivity accounts for 3.3% of deaths and 19 million disability-adjusted life years worldwide.1 It has been shown that regular physical activity is a protective factor associated with myocardial infarction (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.97), reducing population attributable risk by 12%.2 Physical activity during adulthood can increase total life expectancy and life expectancy free of cardiovascular disease between 1.3 and 3.5 years.3

From the point of view of primary prevention, emphasis to control cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and type II diabetes is fundamentally related to pharmacological interventions. As a result, measures to control underlying factors, such as diet and physical activity, are often overlooked. However, these underlying factors, given their pleiotropic effects, influence both established and emerging risk factors,4 ,5 making them invaluable tools for the primary prevention of cardiovascular and chronic conditions. Exercise raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol; lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure; improves fasting and postprandial glucose-insulin homeostasis; maintains and induce …