Physical inactivity linked to future heart disease risk in women

A new study has revealed that lack of physical activity is one of the major reasons behind future heart disease risk in women.

According to the study by researchers of University of Queensland, physical inactivity was a leading factor for heart disease in women at every age from the early 30s to late 80s, CBS News reported.

Lead author Wendy Brown, director of the university's Center for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health, said that from about age 30, physical activity levels decline and women need to do everything that they can to avoid it.

The study measured the top four risk factors for heart disease in Australia, which included excess weight, smoking, high blood pressure and physical inactivity, found that the factors account for more than half the heart disease across the globe.

The researchers said that younger women were more likely to smoke, which drove heart disease risk up by 59 percent and made smoking the most, while smoking rates fell from 28 percent in women between the ages of 22 and 27 to 5 percent in women 73 to 78 years old.

The study revealed that physical inactivity and high blood pressure increased steadily across all women's lifespans from ages 22 to 90.

The study was published in British Journal of Sports Medicine.