Middle-aged women have a lower risk of stroke, heart disease and clots if they are physically active just two or three times each week, a new study has shown.

UK researchers looked at 1.1 million women with no history of stroke, heart disease, clots, diabetes or cancer. The average age of the women at the start of the study was 56.

All provided details about their levels of physical activity at the start of the study and three years later. The researchers then looked at hospital admissions and deaths among the women. Overall, they were monitored for an average of nine years.

The study found that those who took part in strenuous physical activity two to three times per week were 20% less likely to suffer a stroke or develop heart disease or clots, compared to those who undertook little or no activity.

Strenuous activity was considered activity that caused sweating or the heart to beat faster than usual.

The study noted that among these active women, there did not appear to be further risk reduction if they exercised more often than two or three times a week.

According to the study's lead author, Dr Miranda Armstrong of the University of Oxford, middle-aged women who are currently inactive ‘should try to do some activity regularly'.

"However, to prevent heart disease, stroke and blood clots, our results suggest that women don't need to do very frequent activity as this seems to provide little additional benefit above that from moderately frequent activity," she noted.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Circulation.

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